Chapter 64

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The Steel Squad, who saved Seoul, and their commander, Private Lee Hyun-wook... These two names were the most frequently mentioned in the world at this moment. The media had been flooding with reports related to the Steel Squad for a whole week, celebrities were chiming in on their social media, and the internet naturally consumed them as the hottest topic. Thus, a tremendous amount of rumors were being produced. Some claimed that the Steel Squad was actually a special force secretly trained by the government, others suggested that they were all S-rankers who had been hiding their powers and were forced to reveal themselves, and there were even conspiracy theories that the 4th Wave itself was a fabrication and the Steel Squad was a fake. However, since they did not appear in front of the camera, there was no way to verify their true identity...

“...Did that person just say he’s from the Steel Squad, just now?”

“Yes, he also said he’s the commander, didn’t he?”

All the troops of the 2nd Anti-Monster Brigade, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Squad in Incheon were looking at Lee Hyun-wook’s face.

“Wait, if he’s the commander of the Steel Squad...”

“That, isn’t he the hero, Private Lee Hyun-wook, who saved Seoul?”

At first, they were skeptical...

“...Oh, that’s right. It’s his face!”

Soon, people began to recognize Lee Hyun-wook’s face.

‘Hmm, I didn’t expect they would recognize my face so quickly...’

Lee Hyun-wook detested exposure, but despite that, his personal information had already spread far and wide. His face, rank, affiliation, and past activities...

Of course, in this day and age, it was almost impossible to completely hide one’s identity.

Fatigue was already setting in, but there were also advantages to being famous.

“Squad leader, that person is really Private Lee Hyun-wook.”

“Yes, it’s the same face I saw on the news this morning.”

With their help in identifying the situation, there was no need for unnecessary trouble.

Lieutenant Lee Tae-kyung’s face stiffened at the soldiers’ reactions.

She checked Lee Hyun-wook’s name tag again.

‘3rd Anti-Monster Brigade, 1st Battalion, Private Lee Hyun-wook...’

Yes, his identity perfectly matched the savior of Seoul she knew.

Her face, which had been filled with caution, now began to show a sense of reverence.

While they couldn’t even suppress a small underground parking lot and had to request support, this man had been active throughout the 4th Wave, achieving the greatest feat as a hero...

“Ah, Private Lee Hyun-wook... How did you get here...”

“Can I take a quick look?”

“Eh? Oh, sure...”

The AMT troops, including Lee Tae-kyung, stepped back.

“Excuse me, can I borrow a weapon?”

At that moment, a soldier ran forward, offering his longsword and bowing.

“Private Lee Hyun-wook, if you use a longsword, would my weapon be suitable?”

He even showed a look of honor.

‘No, what is this...’

It was a surprising reaction, but on the other hand, he could understand their feelings.

The AMT troops, who were often looked down upon in the player community, were now being called heroes.

As a fellow soldier, they must have felt a special admiration.

“Hmm... No, this is fine.”

As Lee Hyun-wook said this, he slightly raised his hands,

and a basic-issue ‘M9 (Enchanted)’ bayonet floated up from the soldier’s waist.

“I’ll borrow a few of these.”

Soon, 17 bayonets floated up from all the squad members’ waists.

Rumble—

Everyone looked up, staring blankly at the scene.

“Wow...”

“This is...”

Actually, it wasn’t a particularly impressive scene.

In a world with magic that could create flames and ice walls, floating a few bayonets in the air wasn’t that powerful.

However, given the terrifying rumors about Lee Hyun-wook, who was said to wield a ‘Steel Rain,’ even this small scene felt very special.

In the somewhat burdensome gaze of the troops, Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo approached Lee Hyun-wook.

“Hmm, do you notice how they’re looking at you like you’re a celebrity?”

“...I’m already tired.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

To Kim Se-hee, entering the underground parking lot didn’t seem easy.

“The vines are blocking the entrance, and if we get close, they’ll grab us and pull us in.”

In the darkness of the underground parking lot, movements could be seen.

If they got any closer, dozens of vines would rush out and bind their limbs.

But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.

“It’s dangerous, so I won’t go in directly.”

“What? If you don’t go in, how...”

At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook took something out of his pocket.

Whirr—

It was the magic engineering item ‘Fly Eye’ developed by Kang Jung-doo.

Lee Hyun-wook closed his eyes, transferring mana to it and establishing a mana connection.

– ‘Fly Eye (Prototype)’ and ‘Mana Connection’ have started.

* Mana Decrease per Second: 2

Then, his vision aligned with the camera of the Fly Eye.

– ‘Fly Eye (Prototype)’ and ‘Synchronization’ have been established.

* Available Actions:

1) Night Vision

2) Self-Destruct Command

He could read the magic circuits etched inside the small mechanical device.

No, it wasn’t reading and understanding; it was more like instinctively perceiving.

Like moving one’s limbs, he could do it without any conscious effort.

‘It’s still a bit dizzy, but I’m getting used to it.’

Lee Hyun-wook moved the Fly Eye around, feeling like a small bee.

Rumble—

It flew quietly and quickly into the entrance of the underground parking lot.

The inside was dark, but with the Fly Eye’s ‘Night Vision,’ he could see through the darkness without any problem.

Rustle—

Hell’s Grip, the red vines filled the space, writhing and making a strange sound like rubber gloves being squeezed.

It was a bizarre scene, like looking inside a jar full of snakes.

Fortunately, the small and quiet movements of the ‘Fly Eye’ didn’t seem to trigger any reaction.

‘Good, I’ll go a bit further inside.’

Soon, he found the single point from which all the vines were extending.

Thump— Thump—

It was a lump of flesh shaped like a heart.

‘This is the core of Hell’s Grip.’

It had roots like blood vessels extending into the ‘pink moss’ on the floor.

‘As expected... someone intentionally created the self-sustaining environment for Hell’s Grip.’

Who, and why... he couldn’t know yet, but destroying this core would definitely neutralize the vine clusters.

‘Hmm, should I use the self-destruct function? Hmm...’

However, Lee Hyun-wook hesitated.

The current value of the ‘Fly Eye’ was quite high.

The quite rare flying mechanism, the mithril alloy body, and the magic circuits etched for operation... it might cost hundreds of millions per unit.

‘Still, I should test it once. There might be problems in important moments...’

So, as he approached the core and issued the self-destruct command, his vision returned to the outside, to his body.

And...

Zzz—Bang—!

A blue light burst from the entrance of the underground parking lot, causing the building to shake.

“Eh, what’s happening...”

“What, what exploded?”

Behind them, the AMT troops were murmuring in confusion. They had no idea what had exploded.

Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo were also surprised.

“Was that done by Private Lee Hyun-wook? Or...”

“Yeah, he was testing a new technology.”

“Ah...”

“The thing blocking the entrance is dead, so we can enter now.”

Surprisingly, it had a decent destructive power.

It seemed to have a magic circuit embedded with an explosive spell.

‘As expected, Kang Jung-doo, despite not often dealing with magic engineering, his skills are considerable.’

Lee Hyun-wook approached the entrance of the underground parking lot with 17 M9 bayonets in front of him.

“Ah, but the two of you should wait in the rear. I’ll go in alone first.”

“...What? Why?”

“Neither of you can deal damage to ‘wood’ attributes.”

Kim Se-hee had ‘wind,’ and Park Jun-mo had ‘electricity’—both were weak against wood.

Honestly, ‘metal’ was the same, but Lee Hyun-wook had the power to overcome it.

“No, but going in alone is a bit...”

Lee Hyun-wook always did well alone, and Kim Se-hee knew that well.

Especially his dive towards the Blue Dragon Mountain was truly...

But seeing him faint just now made her worried.

“It’s fine. If anything happens, I’ll signal immediately.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better if we follow closely behind?”

Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.

“The inside is dark, and the vines are everywhere, so it might be difficult in many ways.”

He meant that they might be more of a hindrance than a help.

Kim Se-hee pouted.

“Ah, but with just those bayonets, it might be a bit... You should take some proper weapons.”

She offered a longsword she had brought from the workshop.

But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head again.

Then he spread his hands...

Zzz—

Metal began to sprout from his palms, twisting into a spiral and growing longer, eventually forming a solid spear.

At first glance, it was clear that he was producing steel from his body.

“Ah, what... What are you?”

Kim Se-hee gaped in amazement at the magical scene.

In Lee Hyun-wook’s case, he gained new skills each time he broke through 10kg, 100kg, and 1,000kg in metal control