episode_0388

The hangar, to which I rushed after receiving the call, looked completely different from before.

“It’s a factory!”

No, rather than unfamiliar, it was a sight that suited the word ‘evolution.’

The spacious hangar, which had stored the super heavy tanks and the central core, was now packed with machines, wires, and pipes.

Just by providing wires, electronic components, and various materials, it had accomplished something astonishing.

“It’s moving! Is that a robot arm?”

“Conveyor belt!”

What used to be just an empty space was now densely filled with gigantic, unknown machines, forming a massive metal jungle.

—Whirring!

Robot arms ceaselessly swept through the air, assembling something.

Above the metal jungle, blue and red lights danced alternately, and below them, a constant whirring of machines mixed with the hiss of escaping steam, creating a peculiar resonance.

At the center, Hekatoncheir’s central core still emitted a brilliant light.

In the midst of all that scenery, a blue-haired girl, her hair reaching below her waist, moved back and forth, busily issuing instructions.

“Here! There! Ugh! Move, you old-fashioned robot! You’re too slow!”

“What is all this…?”

I mumbled, lost in awe.

“You did all this?”

“Hehe, this much is nothing! This is the extraordinary power of me, Hekatoncheir!”

It puffed out its chest proudly. It was a sight that had been unimaginable just a short while ago.

To think that an ordinary hangar would transform into a forest of automatically moving machines.

“It accomplished something!”

“But what did it accomplish?”

For now, just by looking at it, I couldn’t tell what it was. I needed to confirm what specific abilities it possessed first.

“So, Kale, can you make weapons with those?”

“Huh? Of course! Can’t you tell? Although they’re quite crude, developing and mass-producing personal firearms or simple heavy weapons isn’t difficult!”

“Ohh!”

My heart swelled. Our Violet Division had advanced one step further in terms of supply, the most crucial element in war.

“Automated factory!”

Now, we could continuously produce as many weapons as we needed.

My heart thumped at the wondrous sight before my eyes. I instinctively knew that the day the Violet Division would grow into a legion was not far off.

“Maybe we can even create an army group!”

It felt as if the realization of our dream had drawn much closer.

My admiration was short-lived, as this wondrous sight had a limit.

“Staffs? Enhanced suits? These use aether. I don’t know how they work.”

Hekatoncheir couldn’t create weapons or equipment that used magic.

“You don’t know magic? You’re connected to our network! You’re a fusion. Shouldn’t you be able to use it now?”

“Well, I can’t use it! My creators were a species that couldn’t use magic. I’m the same! I know what magic is, but I can’t use it well. Want to try sending your magic?”

Without hesitation, I channeled my magic into its core.

The red aether was quickly absorbed into the core as if pouring water into sand, and most of it exited from the opposite side of the core.

“What? It’s true.”

“See? This is the first time I’ve even tried using magic itself! I’m just starting to learn it.”

I felt a little disappointed. If what it said was true, improving magic-using equipment would take some time.

“Then for now, making conventional weapons will be the best option.”

Kale pouted for a moment, then nodded.

“This is all I can do for now. Besides, I also need to restore my main ship body. I need to find replacement materials too! And there’s not much data on this world. For now, all I can do is mass-produce and improve this world’s weapons.”

Disappointment flickered through me at its words, but I still thought, ‘At least this is something.’ At least we had weapons secured.

“And, something like Ruzilin’s Cheolkwon—”

“Then Kale! Take a look at this.”

I laid various types of weapons on the floor.

On the far left was a worn-out black Federation-issue assault rifle, and on the far right was a heavy, state-of-the-art electromagnetic rifle for the Federation’s elite mobile units.

In between them, various personal firearms seized from different places filled the space.

“Can you improve these and mass-produce them?”

“Hmm… Are these the weapons you used? They look a bit crude…”

Kale stared intently at the items for a moment, then nodded.

“Hmm… They’re simple, but if I tinker with them a bit, they’ll become quite useful. All right, leave it to me! I’ll make one right away!”

Before Kale’s words had even finished, the surrounding robot arms moved in unison. Their impressive sight stretched out towards the weapons like living organisms.

Several robot arms delicately picked up the weapons I had placed down, then disappeared deep into the factory on conveyor belts.

Simultaneously, machines installed throughout the hangar began to move in unison, making metallic sounds. A wave of mechanical devices rippled like a massive tide.

—Clunk!

About thirty minutes passed. The deafening sound of the factory operation gradually subsided, and from behind Kale, a robot arm smoothly glided towards us on a ceiling rail.

“Complete!”

What appeared before me was an improved version of the assault rifle I had entrusted to it earlier.

While its overall appearance hadn’t changed much, it had evolved into a sleeker, more futuristic design.

“Wow, it looks cool.”

Upon closer inspection, traces of subtle changes were visible everywhere.

A special metal component, never seen before, was added to the barrel, reducing weight and increasing strength, and the scope looked even more precise.

The stock and grip felt perfectly adjusted, as if custom-fitted to my hand.

“How is it, Commander? You’ll be satisfied with this much!”

Kale asked with a proud expression. I carefully lifted the improved rifle and checked the sights.

It felt much lighter than before, and the handling had improved.

The first impression alone was a perfect passing grade.

“First, I increased the efficiency of the electromagnetic acceleration device! This is just a sample for now. The mass-produced version will have improved barrels and batteries, making them even more powerful!”

“I see.”

“But the really important thing is this! I made it just in case, and it was a complete success!”

Kale quickly called another robot arm. A small, silvery metallic object gently descended from the ceiling.

It deftly caught it and proudly displayed it before me.

It was a uniquely designed bullet, slightly thicker and longer than existing ammunition.

“I’ve prepared a target over there! Try shooting it!”

Full of curiosity, I loaded the bullet into the chamber. Then I pulled the trigger.

—Boom!

The bullet pierced through the metal plate and caused a powerful explosion.

“Huh? This is?”

“It’s a rocket-propelled armor-piercing high-explosive round! Your gun can now penetrate farther and stronger, and when it hits the target, it’ll go boom! The gun I just showed you will use this bullet as its standard from now on!”

“Ohh!”

This was an innovative achievement beyond my expectations. If it could do this much, it was worth entrusting other weapons to it.

“Alright! Then, here, this, and this too, modify them for me!”

I displayed all the weapons I possessed on the floor, from mortars to V-series homemade rockets. Kale would evolve all of them to the next level.

“Okay! Got it! But to expand the production line, I’ll need additional support!”

“Leave it to me!”

The Violet army was ready for its new leap. All that remained was to await the fruits of its labor.

“We can now crush the enemies of democracy even more powerfully!”

“Hooray!”

Overwhelming joy echoed through our network.

Feeling that thrill, Hekatoncheir, seemingly elated, jumped up onto the table and spread its arms boastfully.

“See? This is my power, made for war! Praise me!”

Some of us lifted it high.

“Wow! Long live Hekatoncheir!”

Our joy was short-lived. The hangar door clanked open, and a familiar voice spilled inside.

“Violet. I heard the cute new arrival did something wonderful, so I came to see! Is the work progressing well?”

A mature-looking blonde beauty opened the door and entered.

Kale’s face instantly froze the moment it saw her.

Its expression clearly showed boredom.

“That woman’s here again…”

“‘That woman,’ you say? She’s our Senior-nim! Watch your words!”

A strange fervor shimmered in Adela Unnie’s violet eyes. Her gaze sparkled even more brightly when she saw Kale.

“Now, it’s teatime, so how about a cup of tea?”

“That’s right! Kale! This is your chance to learn about teatime! Your clone’s movement range is much longer, isn’t it? Let’s have tea with Cheolkwon! We’ll have dessert too!”

“Ugh… What a bother…!”

It was dragged out of the hangar, still held in our hands.

**

The X-B29 naval base could only be described as ruins.

The aftermath of the superhuman clash and the war-like assault had shattered the structures precariously built on the reef and various floating platforms.

Even without being a construction safety expert or a structural engineering major, anyone could tell that this place was beyond recovery.

“Remarkable. To think even Luminax was finished.”

It was the Federation’s soldiers who were dispatched to the base belatedly.

As a result of backtracking faint traces barely caught by the Air Force’s surveillance network and satellites, they were lucky enough to find some survivors who had attempted to escape and become isolated in the nearby waters.

After an offer they couldn’t refuse, they finally managed to make them speak, but even that wasn’t enough. They had to wander the vast ocean for much longer.

It was long after all the incidents had concluded that the Federation army finally arrived at this monumental site where the Foundation’s growth plate had been severed.

“Did you find anything?”

The officer shouted to the soldiers who were sifting through the base’s debris. A non-commissioned officer, directing the search operation below, lifted his dust-covered face and replied.

“We’re still looking, but… there’s nothing here either. Even a locust swarm would leave more behind. They thoroughly swept everything away!”

“Vicious bastards!”

The officer couldn’t hide his disappointment.

The superior’s order was to salvage useful information from the Foundation’s ruins, but the Ariel Group’s notorious plundering instinct seemed to have been fully unleashed here too.

All that remained wherever they passed was ash and dust.

Stripping everything, kidnapping, and burning was the savage nature of this anti-establishment organization.

“Move quickly! We need to salvage something before those tin knights and assassins sniff us out and come looking!”

Unfortunately, no traces were found of Secretary-General Pagan, who was rumored to have successfully escaped, or the key executives who followed him.

Only intelligence indicating that a significant number of core researchers and elite agents had already been absorbed by other clans or evacuated to continental branches was confirmed.

“…By the way, where are we supposed to find that white-armored bastard? He’s nowhere to be seen.”

Through a clumsily operated intelligence network, all they could barely ascertain was the existence of the Foundation’s secret weapon, a unit of awakened ones called ‘Helman.’

Even then, nothing was confirmed beyond the name.

“It’s highly likely they retreated. I wish the higher-ups would accept that…”

“Hey! Don’t say scary things like that. If there’s no achievement, they might order us to search even the bottom of the sea!”

While the search operation was in full swing, sharp engine sounds echoed from the sky behind the soldiers.

A VTOL aircraft began a smooth descent, and men in white suits poured out of its fuselage like a flood.

“What? Who are you people?”

Despite the soldiers’ sharp, wary reactions, the white-suited group didn’t bat an eye.

The man at the front replied with a faint smile on his lips.

“We are from the Federal Intelligence Agency! We’ve been dispatched by the Council, so please cooperate. Here is an official document stating that coordination with your Army Command has been completed!”

The officer glared at the white-suited men with sharp eyes, but then took out his electronic terminal and scanned the official document. Unfortunately, it was genuine.

“No problems, are there? Then we’ll take a look as well. All of this is for the Federation’s security. Would you please step aside?”

“…Understood.”

The uneasy relationship between the Council and the military was public knowledge, but there was nothing they could do in the face of a legitimate reason.

The soldiers reluctantly made way.

The agents in white suits began leisurely patrolling the naval base, as if touring ruins.

“They even managed to survive that biological weapon dispersal operation… They really are monsters.”

“Indeed. Which clans and corporations are behind them, I wonder? Could it perhaps be a clever deception by other clans?”

“That’s unlikely. The evidence is too clear. It’s more likely to be a splinter faction of the Obsidian Legion. The heretics of the military, that is.”

The agents continued their conversation in low, secretive tones.

“Anyway, you do realize we need to view this situation as quite serious, don’t you? The fact that Luminax, following Magnaris, has also lost its power…”

In just one year, two key figures of the Teatime Agreement had fallen, leaving only their names behind.

Such a power vacuum meant a golden opportunity for the Federation to extend its influence deeper into Rustroom.

And that, in turn, meant they could bring the budding future warriors currently studying at the academies under their control.

“The higher-ups are seriously considering whether this opportunity could allow us to return to the pre-Teatime Agreement era. They’re even talking about nationalizing academies and related facilities, I hear. This is a situation where not a single mistake can be tolerated.”

“Understood.”

The Federal Intelligence Agency agents meticulously photographed and searched various locations according to their respective duties.

Meanwhile, other personnel from the Council headed towards the center of the naval base with the agents.

The sinkhole on the sea surface, where massive debris and countless wires were entangled—a bizarre phenomenon caused by aether—was still continuing even after the alien warship that had been in its depths disappeared.

“A unique energy flow is being detected. This must be the secret… that the Foundation was so immersed in researching.”

“Who are you people again?! Hey! Don’t touch that! It’s important evidence!”

“We are Council-affiliated scientists! You’re the ones who shouldn’t interfere!”

While an argument broke out between the soldiers and the agents, an investigator subtly slipped away and focused on the bottom of the sinkhole.

Thanks to his extremely ordinary and harmless appearance, he was a person no one usually paid attention to.

When the man felt no one was watching, he reached out his hand towards a glittering object buried in concrete dust and broken tiles.

In his hand was a golden fragment emitting a mysterious glow. It looked like debris that had fallen from somewhere.

Deep wrinkles etched themselves onto the face of the man disguised as a scientist.

“A Nornir material. When and where did these lowlifes get their hands on such an artifact?”

He thought to himself. These inferior beings had managed to hide something so precious so well.

Just as he was pondering how to reprimand his subordinates for failing to detect the machinations of the alien race, his thoughts abruptly stopped.

“Hey there! We’re still in discussions! Come over here! Don’t touch anything!”

The call came from someone, whether a soldier or an agent, he couldn’t tell.

“Yes, yes! I’ll be right there!”

The man turned around with a servile attitude, as if nothing had happened, and hurried away.