Chapter. 23. Heir of Gedreuz, Field (13)
****
“You really really came! Professor Park!”
“Then you came 30 minutes away and were asking for directions, so you wouldn’t have come?”
Heungan dumplings. Real name: Bae Seong-ju. A man with oily hair that is roughly trimmed with a knife or can lid, commonly called a ‘scavenger beard.’ From his military boots, maintenance jumpsuit, and aviator jumper with various patches sewn on top of it, he seemed like a man who decided to express everything about himself through his appearance.
“The guys in the 47 chat room asked me to say hello.”
“I saw it too. “I guess we’re talking about it right now?”
Meeting him was so casual that it could hardly be considered my first meeting with an internet friend.
“Uh….”
“….”
Of course, it’s not because Mandu or I are such friendly people that we treat people we only talked to through text messages as best friends the moment we meet them.
“And um. That… too? nice to meet you?”
“I don’t understand what I’m glad to see. I get it.”
This happened naturally when a third person, whom they had never met, intervened between two people who were only friends online.
The uninvited guest, who neither met nor planned to visit, seriously stimulated the wariness of Heungan Mandu, an ordinary wasteland person, and it was natural for the mixed feelings of wariness and awkwardness to become closer to the person in front of him, whom he had known for quite a long time, even online.
“….”
“….”
“Why are you both looking at me with those eyes?”
Sigh!
In response to the uninvited guest’s question, Heungan Mandu pressed my side hard with a very dissatisfied expression.
“Ahhhh-&^%#@!!”
The guy who hit my body with all his might, officially declared as ‘composite armor for tanks’ by Dome researchers, groaned in pain and whimpered.
“Ugh… Hey, what is that? “You weren’t coming alone?”
“Well. “It’s Seongju.”
“Call me dumpling. “It’s less awkward that way.”
“Yes, dumplings. “First of all, I’m sorry.”
“Even if we are close friends, we wouldn’t bring someone else in without notice like this. It’s not Area 47, it’s a wasteland. “Do you know that if there are additional people at the meeting place other than what was promised, it can be treated as an attack?”
“That’s why you say you’re sorry. I did it wrong. “Is this a completely unexpected situation for me?”
“So it’s okay if I activate a military defense turret against you two outsiders right now?”
hmm. This guy is serious. Seeing that he secretly puts his hand inside his chest, it seems to be a semi-automated turret that operates by direct input. It’s very old.
I glanced behind him, saw my companion, took a deep breath, and then shrugged my shoulders at him.
“what. If only that would ease your mind. “Go a little further away and shoot so you don’t get hit by a ricochet.”
“It’s a military turret. “It’s about two units with anti-aircraft firepower.”
“Uh, uh….”
Dumpling made a bewildered face when he saw the turret heading in this direction in a threatening manner, and even when he saw us being indifferent, his face soon relaxed into an expression of bewilderment.
“Damn it. I was having fun with real monsters. Are you saying that you and your customer are no better than an old military turret?”
“There is something like that. Anti-aircraft turrets tend to use stronger explosives unless they use smart ammo, but you were talking right under my nose. “It was a bluff with no intention of shooting in the first place.”
“Shit. “I was crazy to throw a tantrum in front of Professor Park.”
What Mandu did was a kind of wasteland survivor style fight. When two groups meet for the first time for ‘peaceful’ purposes, they show off their firepower and say, ‘Even though we are such bad guys, we came out to talk to you face to face.’ Protesting with the same meaning. Although it is rough, it is somewhat of a traditional gesture of peace.
‘Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve been like this. Ian was really good at this.’
Of course, I wasn’t even the slightest bit angry. In the wasteland outside the safe realm of the dome, this kind of harsh greeting is common, and Heungan Mandu only made a reasonable protest against the fact that the armed group they encountered for the first time brought unannounced people to the meeting place.
‘Let’s see. What did you do next in the normal procedure?’
First, the two groups show off their power. Since our physical strength crushed Mandu’s anti-aircraft turret, in the sense that we have the upper hand in the conversation…
“Bae Seong-ju. “His nickname is Heunganman. He is the owner and squatter of the Mt. Wǔtái Air Force Base here, and is a former ace pilot of the 25th Division of the Allied Air Force.”
‘Oh yeah. The one who was scared was the one to introduce themselves first.’
Every time I did a deal with HIV, the middle part of the process was always marked by Metal Joe’s shooting rampage, so I couldn’t go all the way to the end, but according to common sense in the wasteland, this was the right thing to do.
“Hmm. As you probably know, Professor Park’s bulletin board name is Professor. He is ranked first in the GG broadcast rankings, holds the 3rd and 4th world clear records, is a half-mutant whose body became like this after an accident, and is the spiritual leader of the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’, which is growing rapidly recently, and is also called the hero of the dome. Oh, in addition, he also serves as the Chief of Staff of the Dome Expeditionary Force, which was established a few weeks ago.”
“oh my god. “He is the person who has lumped together the most awesome titles of our generation like Abomination.”
He bowed his head over there, so if you’re not willing to cut off his hair, bow down too.
“And this one, um… I don’t have to explain it in detail, but you understand?”
“If you don’t know, you’re a spy.”
In addition, as the leader, all I have to do is introduce the additional person who caused the conflict.
“Cheonryuje. His nickname was Cheonryuje, and when he arrived at the bottom of the mountain and opened the luggage compartment, he was inside.”
Cheonryuje. He is a ranker who cleared World 3 before me with the same nickname and received [Military Project T-42/Super Sensitization Training Program] among Gedroitz’s completionist rewards.
The uninvited guest who broke into the first offline meeting of two Internet friends, Heungan Dumplings and Professor, was one of the people who recently announced in the Dome an official decree that ‘it will be treated as a type 3 variant like Old Picture’.
“In the truck…. Cheonryuje was secretly riding it?”
“uh. “In the luggage compartment.”
“I heard it took two days to get here?”
“I didn’t fight for two days and just drove, so I didn’t have time to open the luggage compartment.”
“rice is? What about water? “Where’s the bathroom?”
“I held back.”
“Why is this guy who has only been into BDSM since moving to District 47 suddenly acting up?”
“I don’t know. “I also saw this guy for the first time 30 minutes ago when I opened the luggage compartment at the mouth of the mountain.”
In fact, it was still quiet even after I opened it. This guy was lying motionless between the RPG launcher box and the 7 bullet box, like some kind of still life. The corpse-like thing opened its eyes and said, ‘Has it arrived?’ But if I didn’t have the patience I gained in April World, I would have thrown everything I could get my hands on at that moment. Half of the things in the truck were gunpowder, so it would have exploded violently. That guy and I will crawl out of the scrap metal truck unharmed.
“Anyway, since I’m accompanying you, please understand that. “Do you have a seat on the plane?”
“I can still fit up to 4 people, but… dammit. “If the number of people increases, we have to recalculate.”
After hearing my explanation, Dumpling turned his back with an expression of not knowing what was going on and started whining and pulling on the flimsy iron door.
“You can’t leave it there for a thousand years, so come in now! “Let’s discuss the detailed flight schedule inside!”
As the door, which seemed to have no stopping power, was pushed aside, what was revealed was probably the only air force base in the vicinity that was used for its original purpose.
Flap!
“AN-2. “He is the ancestor of the flying world who was resurrected as a modern toy.”
And it was a small plane with two wings, the sole purpose of the air base’s existence.
****
People, people, people – Clap!
Click, click, click, click-
“Isn’t it amazing when you see it?” “….In a way?”
It was definitely amazing. In the first place, this was a place that was completely swept away by the Dome’s scouting party to the point where they decided that there was ‘no need to visit anymore.’ In fact, where only concrete structures remained, Heungan Mandu single-handedly created facilities for maintenance and takeoff of old airplanes.
Creak, squeak, squeak!
“Uh… I think I saw something like this in ‘Home Alone.’”
“Ah, cabin. “You could definitely say it was inspired by the Christmas Little Devil.”
The problem is not that the greatness has created a facility that can maintain airplanes even in harsh environments, but rather, ‘Are they really going to take off an airplane in such a crude facility?’ The problem is that admiration is mixed with anxiety.
First of all, I knew that the runway was short. Just looking at the photo they sent, it looked short, and they said it was originally a simple base for a 7th generation fighter jet capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
But instead of making the most of the short runway, the dumpling guy hung up wooden poles and parachute-rope tents in the middle of it.
As the dumpling whined and turned the large pulley, the lines and tents were slowly being pulled towards us, or towards the other side of the runway.
“No matter how short the distance required for a biplane like the AN-2 to take off is, the runway is too narrow and the turbulence is so severe that it is unclear whether it will take off properly. “So we built a catapult.”
“If it’s a catapult… something like the catapult from GG?” “Oh well. The etymology is correct. “This refers to a high-speed winch for fighter jet ejection used on aircraft carriers.”
Deuldeul-Eung!
Mandu said as he hung the end of the tent, which had reached our feet, on a hook on the floor.
“Thanks to the hardener you sent, I was able to create a ramp at the end of the runway. Our plane does not take off under its own thrust, but is launched into the sky by a catapult. “If you look at it this way, it resembles a slingshot, right?”
“I see. Except the string isn’t a taut rubber band. If you were to launch a biplane, you would need quite a bit of power, so how are you going to do that?”
“I already prepared it.”
What the dumpling guy’s finger pointed to was a large rock on a ridge not far away. Mandu held out the binoculars, but even Cheonryuje and I could see this distance with the naked eye.
“It’s a rock. A somewhat unstable foundation. “They put a lot of effort into putting the chains on it.”
“yep. It is a rocky rock that has been treated as a tourist attraction. “It was said that the construction of that rock wall made me break out in a cold sweat.”
“Is that… a bomb down there? “Is it remote?”
“…Can you even see that with the naked eye? Well, anyway, that’s right. You press the big red button and boom! And the bomb exploded and that big rock fell down.”
Even a fool could have figured out what this guy was thinking if he had seen this far.
A large rock located across from the runway and a chain firmly fastened to it.
Chains extending down the runway and hooks on rails running down the center of the runway.
“It’s a lot of bustle, but it’s mostly a fixing device to keep the rails planted under the runway from being off-center.”
The rock falls, the chain attached to it pulls the winch on the runway, and the winch, along with the biplane hanging on the hook, runs down the runway with the force of thousands of tons of rock falling.
“It’s a catapult after all, then?”
“There was the first siege catapult, and an aeronautical engineer modeled it to create a catapult for fighter ejection, and then modeled the catapult to create the Heungan Mandupyo aerial catapult. “Knowledge goes around.”
“Is that possible? No problem?”
“Uh… maybe? Most of the stress will be distributed through the rollers carrying the biplane… right? In theory? “It will work, right?”
I don’t think it will work. I can see before my eyes the biplane that was thrown down the mountain as it took off, crashing miserably along with the unjustly sacrificed Rock.
After finishing his explanation, Heungan Mandu turned towards us like a conductor waiting for a standing ovation.
“how is it?”
“….”
“….” The
more my eyebrows next to the expressionless Cheon Ryu-je bent into an inverted octagon, the proudly spread Mandu’s arms shrank.
“uh…. Of course, it is not safe enough to allow anyone to ride, and if the angle is slightly changed during ejection, you could end up in a valley, and if you accelerate too quickly, excessive lift may be applied to the wings of the biplane, causing the wings to twist upon takeoff… Anyway, the plane is taking off, right? It’s floating! “In an era where aviation history has disappeared, humanity is once again leaping into the sky!”
“How about it?”
“…Just keep talking. It’s fun. “Isn’t Cheonryuje a lot more fun than you think?”
“surely. “That’s impressive.”
“yes? They clearly said that they would give me all the support I needed, even if it meant robbing the dome if I wanted to… Is it a mountain range catapult that they made despite refusing? yes!”
“Oh, I couldn’t help it! It’s only been a month since we started providing you with the things you need! I was already preparing these things to fly this biplane into the sky even before that! You sent a message saying, ‘Is that airplane you’ve been dreaming about for a while?’ “When I asked, 70% of the catapult had already been completed!”
“Then you should have told me from the beginning that it was a primitive suicide machine! I’m running out of money now! “If you had just told me about something like an aerial gyro device or a booster pack for an exosuit, I could have brought it in with a squadron of drones and installed it!”
“Damn it! Do you know how much calculation went into making that? How many additional propulsion devices should we add to an already light and weak biplane? Do you want to see a biplane being torn apart like a combined robot being separated?”
“Then, if you calculate it just like you calculated whether it is the stress of the catapult or the lift force-” “
Even if you calculate it with your head down like a high school student before the exam, it will take three weeks. Don’t look down on aerodynamics. If I hadn’t come this far with the sole intention of making the plane fly, I would have jumped off that rock a long time ago. “With major books.”
The guy waved the sleeves of his aviation jumper, which had black ink smeared on it. Through my shaking sleeves, I could see a pile of tattered aviation maintenance books and yellowed paper that looked like I had printed it myself, all piled up on one side of the concrete wall.
“…Is it really not possible?”
“no. No, I don’t. I’d rather just give up than go back to that damn math hell. “I won’t do anything even if you point a gun at my head.”
“What if the gun is pointed at that biplane?”
“Well, it still takes 3 weeks! really! It’s not like you can just attach propellants to anything like you’re making a toy! Just by getting one more Cheonryuje on board right now, there are so many things we have to recalculate while sailing!”
“Three weeks… damn it. I can’t wait like that. In the end, I guess I have to go ‘that way’….”
I saw a biplane with obvious signs of wear in front of me.
In front of it, I could see a runway that had been raised one level by tearing off the flooring and sash, and a catapult rail running through the center of that level.
Beyond that was a wooden ramp clumsily glued together with hardenable resin – and further along, there was a large rock surrounded by chains and bombs.
This division was formed simply because the runway was short.
“don’t worry. “I thought about everything from takeoff to landing.”
“Ugh. Thank you very much….”
The experience of falling from the sky once was enough for me, but as I have already spent two days getting here, an airplane is a means of transportation that has the three elements of [high speed + terrain ignorance + no risk of mutation]. I couldn’t give up. There are only 5 days left before I have to return to the dome.
In the end, I had no choice but to follow the triumphant dumpling guy and help with the final maintenance of the plane late into the night.
Taang-taang-
deep night. Cheonryuje, who had seen an electric furnace for the first time in a long time, had to fall asleep while hugging the parachute he had taken out of the truck as a talisman, with the sound of metal striking echoing all night long.
I already missed Dana’s cozy warmth so much.
And then the next day arrived.
****
Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy!
Chik chiik –
[Hehe – ah – microphone test. Microphone test.]
[Ah, good morning ladies and gentlemen. Captain Bae Seong-ju, aka Heunganman, will be responsible for your safe operation.]
“Put it aside and prepare for takeoff!”
[Like that. Please refrain from causing a disturbance on board the plane as it can lead to the death of all passengers, including the captain. Did you go to the bathroom? Did you wear your seat belt? Are you holding the blast switch?]
“It’s a heavenly flow system. Professor Park has big hands, so I am holding him. “Can I just press it when leaving?”
[bravo. We thank all passengers for their active cooperation. Additionally, if the timing is not right between the moment when the falling rock pulls the catapult and the moment when the plane’s own thrust increases, the plane could be split in two from the waist down, so try to adjust it carefully.] “
Hey!”
[Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk. Don’t be scared, Professor Park, passenger. The reputation of the great hero of the wasteland cries out.]
Chiik –
Bae Seong-ju The man who has been called by the name ‘Heungan Mandu’ at a much higher rate than his real name for several years now is hearing the sound of a passenger scolding him through the headset after the radio has ended. I realized this, but I ignored it because I knew from broadcasts that Professor Park relieves tension with jokes like that.
Now, something several times more important than that was ahead.
“I finally sat down here again.”
A narrow driver’s seat unlike that of an airplane. The windows were too stuffy to let in the wide sky, and the numerous buttons were lined up so complicated that it was dizzying to the eye. Although it was a model far removed from the fighter jets he used, the complex structure unique to the flying machine had some common denominator.
Tap, tap,
tap, wow!
When you press the button in a certain order, the light blinks as if you are waking up.
You only get one chance. The moment when you have to accelerate according to the moment the catapult is pulled based solely on intuition, without an air traffic control center or second officer.
[Shooting Star-2. Standby.]
He closed his eyes. The moment when I cut through the blue sky in silence that surpassed the speed of sound. I imagined and signaled the moment when both my body and mind become one with the gas, a moment that will never leave my mind until I die.
[Catapult GO]
Kuuuung –
I heard the sound of a part of the mountain that had withstood the difficult times in front of me collapsing.
Only 200 meters. The rock tilted as if in slow motion, and the chain and parachute rope that had been pulled for a moment bounced, releasing a series of cracks like a whip.
and.
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I finally felt it again. my everything. The feeling of being pushed back because the blood, flesh, heart, and internal organs cannot keep up with the forward force. An overwhelming sensation that can only be felt in a plane taking off!
Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe
!
The pilot, who endured terrible pressure, captured the exact moment when the rollers that pulled the plane threw it away.
The thing supporting the bottom of the large piece of iron disappeared.
As the tension in the moment passes, the bone pain tickling my stomach subsides.
“It floated. Dumplings, we are flying! “They threw the plane with a catapult!”
Finally, a moment of quiet vibration was reached.
Chiik-
[Hehe- Ah, passengers. Passengers?]
“Hey! I’m sorry I didn’t believe you! To be honest, I was ready to jump, but this is really-”
[Fuck you, passengers! Please shut up and look out the window.]
I can sympathize with that guy’s joy, but now an even more important moment is ahead.
An evil plague that banished all airplanes from the world. A sky full of sand dust that destroys delicate engines and a curtain of static electricity generated by the sand dust.
A place that can be reached by this most crude and simple gas that has broken through the destruction of even the most delicate gas, and therefore is not stopped by fine dust clumps or electromagnetic pulses.
Width –
At some point, a sea of clouds spread out beneath my eyes.
Above my eyes was a vast blue sky that I had not seen for several years.
[Current time 06:24. We would like to inform you that our plane ‘Hard Old Man’ took off successfully. Flight time to destination area 25 [8744.09.248] coordinates is 14 hours. [It will be 14 hours.]
This is how the world is. It’s a wasteland and sandstorm that seemed like it would last forever, but isn’t there still blue sky beyond it?
The endless white earth beneath my feet. Above my head is a cold, blue, eternal sky.
A place where the lights of satellites twinkle beyond the breathtaking blue.
[….Shooting Star-2. Return.]
[Sorry for being late, friends.]
The pilot, in his mid-thirties, said as he traced each patch on his jumper with his hand.
This was truly the place where he should stay.
****
