Chapter 45

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At 7:15 PM, the Steel Company arrived in front of Dongdaemun Station on Line 1. Although it wasn't far from where they had previously engaged in combat, they had to lead 814 isolated citizens from the Jangchung-dong Community Center, which inevitably took some time. Fortunately, no monsters appeared during their journey here.

– Click— Line up the civilians in the center of the road and block the alley entrances with vehicles. Over—

To protect the civilians from any potential ambush, all alley entrances were blocked with vehicles. AMT troops and Lee Jeong-jun's group were positioned around them to provide thorough protection.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook was looking at the entrance to the Dongdaemun Station shelter. Since the shelter was typically located underground, it looked like a regular subway entrance from the outside.

"Mr. Lee Jeong-jun, is that the exit?"

"Yes, going down there leads directly to the shelter entrance."

The Dongdaemun Station shelter could accommodate 8,000 citizens for three days. If the entire station was used by sealing all the entrances, it could house up to 12,000 people for two days. When Lee Jeong-jun's group came out, about 2,000 people were gathered, so there was still plenty of space.

"An Min-tae, take two people and check that exit."

"Understood. ... Did everyone hear that? Let's go!"

All the entrances to Dongdaemun Station were blocked by a mana barrier. If they were willing to open the doors, someone would have come out by now. Soon, a message from An Min-tae came in, confirming that no one was there.

'They have no intention of opening the doors.'

At that moment, two mage players—communications soldiers—approached Lee Hyun-wook. They were preparing to activate the 'Mana Messenger.'

"Then, we will start the mana communication."

They could send voice messages to nearby Mana Messengers through mana. The Dongdaemun shelter was likely equipped with multiple Mana Messengers.

Click—

"We are AMT. We are currently protecting a large number of civilians and wish to enter the shelter. There are no threats nearby. Dongdaemun Station shelter, please respond immediately. Over—"

Despite the message, there was no response.

"Try again."

However, even after several attempts, there was still no response.

'They don't even want to talk... As Lee Jeong-jun said, they are quite stubborn.'

Lee Jeong-jun sighed and wiped his face.

"…They are definitely inside. They are probably ignoring us on purpose."

Lee Jeong-jun showed strong distrust towards those people.

It was understandable. He and his colleagues risked their lives to save others, but those inside were willing to let others die to protect themselves. It was hard not to feel intense disdain...

"Communications soldier, give me the Mana Messenger."

"Sure, here it is!"

Lee Hyun-wook decided to send a message with a different tone.

"We are the AMT Operations Commander. If you do not respond, we will forcibly break through the mana barrier to ensure the safety of the civilians. We will start the forced entry in 5 minutes. Over—"

The feeling of the message was clearly different from the one sent by the communications soldier. It was informal, assertive, and threatening.

Lee Jeong-jun looked at him uneasily. Lee Hyun-wook was a man who would never back down. And the other side was also not one to back down easily.

'There will definitely be a conflict... The situation is tense.'

The 5 minutes passed quickly. There was still no response.

"…5 minutes have passed. Get the Living Armor ready and prepare the Ether Drill."

At Lee Hyun-wook's command, four Living Armors activated, and three privates retrieved something from the truck. The Ether Drill was a very expensive magical engineering item specialized for breaking through mana barriers. The company had only one, but the Steel Company brought it for this operation.

"…Hey, are you really going to break through?"

Sergeant Kim Se-hee, the 1st Platoon leader, asked.

"Yes, we will break through. Please command the tanks from the rear and prepare for entry."

"But… Do we really have to? If we go a little further down this road, there's another shelter. I understand they are being stubborn, but is it worth spending time here?"

As a platoon leader, she had a valid point. Spending time creating conflict here would be a waste. They only had four days left, and they couldn't afford to waste time.

"That's true, but there's another zombie troll nearby. If it appears, things will get complicated. We are now leading civilians, so we need to be cautious."

"…I see…"

Lee Hyun-wook's explanation made sense, but he had another intention.

'Right below… the first erosion factor is there.'

Erosion, a phenomenon that changes the earth's terrain into that of another world, and the point where erosion begins is called an 'erosion factor.' One of the four erosion factors was emerging right below this ground.

'After each wave, this land will completely change, and Dongdaemun Station will become the entrance to a dungeon.'

A dungeon, a large-scale dungeon often found in eroded areas, is created in reality, not inside a gate, and continuously generates monsters. These monsters spread through the complex subway lines of Seoul, ravaging the city.

That was the future of Seoul.

'When the Army Holy Knight Corps attacked, over a million monsters were generated from this place alone, and the estimated number of casualties was in the hundreds of thousands.'

Today, Lee Hyun-wook planned to lead his troops into the dark underground to burn the seed of hell and prevent the impending disaster.

'And… what we need to find here is not just the erosion factor.'

Eliminating the erosion factor would naturally grant a special item. Lee Hyun-wook remembered the list of items obtainable in the 4th Wave.

'My second favorite weapon is right here, sleeping.'

At that time, it would fall into the hands of a villain, but later, Lee Hyun-wook would defeat the villain and claim it. It was the weapon that maximized his abilities.

While Tristan's 'Pale Note' was a portable weapon for auxiliary use, the 'sword' sleeping below was a massive main weapon… no, something even greater.

It had to be secured.

'If I get it first, dealing with the other erosion factors will be much easier.'

At that moment,

– Click— Someone is coming out of Exit 5!

It was a message from An Min-tae. Lee Hyun-wook's communication had worked, and a response was coming.

"…Alright, I'm on my way."

Lee Hyun-wook approached the exit with Kim Se-hee and Lee Jeong-jun. A few people were already outside the shelter. A large man was shouting at An Min-tae.

"Hey! What are you doing, suddenly swarming here like this?"

"Ah, that's not what you should be talking to me about. The commander will be here soon…"

"Who is this commander? Tell me! Hey! He might be someone I know?"

The man was armed with a shield and a greatsword. He was a player but not in uniform, so he was likely not part of the shelter's security force. Lee Jeong-jun explained who he was.

"That man is the bag master of our guild and the security chief of that congressman, Gong Ik-tae. Ah, he was fired a few hours ago, so he's not our master anymore… sigh—"

The man, Gong Ik-tae, turned his head and frowned when he saw Lee Jeong-jun. His eyes were full of malice, and his aggressive nature was evident.

"Mr. Lee Jeong-jun, stay back. You won't get a good response from him."

"Yes, he's the type to start yelling without thinking. A real pain in the neck…"

As Lee Hyun-wook approached, Gong Ik-tae crossed his arms and looked at him.

"I am the AMT Operations Commander. I want to meet the person in charge of the shelter's security."

Gong Ik-tae scanned Lee Hyun-wook from head to toe and then smirked.

"Hey, what's your rank?"

Huh? This arrogant attitude…

Lee Hyun-wook hid his displeasure and silently looked at him.

Gong Ik-tae smirked again.

"Don't act so important. I used to be an AMT officer, so I'm asking. I was a captain three years ago, so I'm a senior to you, right? Let's introduce ourselves and talk, okay? Why are you upset?"

As Gong Ik-tae continued his ridiculous rant, Lee Hyun-wook realized that a long conversation was unnecessary.

"I want to meet the person in charge of the shelter right now."

Lee Hyun-wook looked at the subway entrance and the stairs below, where two large men were guarding the entrance.

"Hey, I just asked you, what's your rank? A captain, maybe? But you're leading too many troops for a captain. Did all the higher-ups die?"

"There are