Chapter 24

Chapter 3 For That Handful of Silver Coins (7)

***

If I had to describe the man who calls himself 'Metal Joe' in one sentence, it would be:

'Heavily armed, macho white man.'

"Could you repeat that clearly? You mean to say that the moment you saw this shotgun, which I've cherished and used like a wife over the past few years, you thought, 'I need a refund'?"

Ah, correction. 'Heavily armed, extremely angry macho white man.'

"Hey, Metal Joe. First, put away that gun and let's talk...."

"The answer comes first. What about the gun pointed at your head doesn't sit well with you? The beautiful curve, the sharp and stimulating smell of metal, the grip that feels as soft and snug as a mother's embrace. Exactly which part made you think this thing is unusable?"

"Well, I don't dislike it, but the situation is a bit...."

"Is that situation enough to ignore this beauty?"

The excited sound of Ian's voice echoed through the burning crater where the mutant corpses lay.

"Look closely! These magnificent double barrels! A human has two hands, two feet, two eyes! 2 is the most balanced and perfect number! These two barrels are like the perfectly perky breasts of a wife! I've loved this gun all my life. And you, you see this love of mine and talk about a refund?"

"Well, that's...."

The professor was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of Vex behind him, looking at them with a 'What are you doing?' expression.

'Well, I guess I can tell him. It's not a big secret anyway.'

A bit of personal history wouldn't hurt.

"That shotgun really appeals to me, but I need a lot of money urgently, so I have to get a refund."

"Hmm!"

Ian, who had been glaring at the professor, turned his body towards the door and said:

"Then I need to hear your situation and make a judgment. Let's move to a different spot. In a confined space like this, a fire will soon deplete the oxygen."

"....You used explosives knowing that?"

"Of course, how else would I blow things up if I worried about such small things?"

"....Is it a concept?"

"It's a soul."

Good grief, is he serious?

Saying that, Ian pulled out a large, square backpack and two ammunition boxes from among the corpses, shook off the bits of flesh stuck to his gear, and started walking towards the door.

Vex had been looking quite worried the whole time.

"Hey, Hap, just in case, some scavengers classify Metal Joe as a psycho gang member...."

"I can see why."

The professor recalled an old saying, 'Their way of thinking is different from ours,' and followed Ian, who was stomping away. After all, they weren't enemies yet, and that crazy firepower was too tempting to refuse.

***

While moving to the next floor, the professor quickly explained the situation.

"....So that's how it is."

"Complicated, but we don't have time. Let's summarize quickly. Prof.... Ah, you said you're called Hangman outside, right?"

"Hap."

"Right, Hangman. So, you came here to get a refund on your gun because of the debt created by that crazy AI, and coincidentally, there was an event in Sector 45, so you came to loot with this little guy?"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

"More or less, but.... can we be a bit quieter? We don't want to advertise 'People here!' and attract all the mutants in the area."

"Such caution is for cowards! A man should face his enemies proudly and add weight to their bodies with bullets!"

"....Is that your concept?"

"It's my soul."

The professor swept his hand along the wall he was leaning against.

The sturdy outer walls built to withstand a nuclear war. Though cracked in places, the seeping water indicated a good connection to the groundwater. Most importantly, there must be a large generator buried deep in the building, not a portable one, to supply power to the 70 shelters.

'The Dome is planning to expand its territory this time. They won't let such a treasure pass by. They're using the Raptor Society to push out the scavengers and then quietly eliminate the Raptors who enter, securing the entire building for their use. Once the inside is cleared, the Dome's technicians have the skills to repair the damaged facilities. Just restoring power would allow them to block other intruders with internal barriers. While holding out, the main force of the Dome would arrive to defend this place, turning it into a second Dome.'

The thoughts were long, but the conclusion was simple.

They had stumbled into a real whale fight. One wrong move here, and they might not make it out alive.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, the professor turned to see Vex pointing at the stairs with his thumb, suggesting they leave.

'I wanted to do that too, but it seems difficult.'

The Dome's elite had already begun their preparations.

If they were far from the Raptors, they wouldn't waste energy on unnecessary tension. With such a well-prepared operation, there must be troops monitoring the entrances. The start of their preparations indicated that the Raptor Society's forces had already entered the basement.

Thump. Thump.

"[Rear / Enemy / Multiple / No escape route]"

Ian and Vex, who had been stealthily moving back and forth, were called back and pressed against the wall. The two mutants they encountered were silently dispatched by Ian and Vex. Once the area was secured, Vex asked in a tense voice:

"What do you mean by no escape route?"

"The Raptor army might already be inside. Leaving the third basement floor isn't a problem, but we'll likely run into them on the way up."

"If there are a lot of those bastards, the only way is for one of us to charge in with a bomb—"

"Rejected."

True, but. They always bring a minigun or flamethrower when they go to fight. Breaking through head-on would be suicidal.

"Any other way to escape?"

"....Right now, we can only rely on luck."

There are three hostile forces: the Dome's elite, the Raptor army, and the mutants. The mutants are the wild card.

"If the Raptors aim for the head, we won't have to worry, but...."

"The Dome kids will likely aim for the body, like a bunch of girls."

The mutant virus is more like a parasitic organism. It infects and spreads throughout the body without showing any symptoms until the host dies, at which point it takes over the body, enhancing and controlling it.

According to the Dome's research, over 90% of the current population are carriers of the mutation virus. This means anyone who dies without their head being destroyed or set on fire will come back as a mutant.

'In such a chaotic battle, it's likely that most critically injured individuals will come back as Type 2 mutants.'

Type 2 mutants, with heightened senses and incredible strength and agility. Even a few of them transforming during the battle would quickly escalate the chaos.

'Using that chaos, we can create space in the battle area and escape.'

The professor had a clear advantage.

No one knew they were here. They had a rough idea of when the battle would start. Lastly.....

"Damn. I'll have to give up on the machines."

The fool carried so many explosives that it was beyond the understanding of the wasteland. Considering the number of grenades and other explosives in his bag and the potential gains from a surprise attack, it wasn't entirely impossible.

'The best scenario would be if this is all just my imagination and the guys ahead are just clever scavengers....'

....Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump

"....Damn."

The regular, growing sound from above suggested it was best to abandon that hope.