Chapter.7 Masquerade Ball (9)
***
“Hmm… I have a plan, but it’s a little complicated to explain.”
“why? “I heard you read all of the professor’s memories?”
“It’s complicated because I read ‘everything’. A person’s thoughts are not something that comes up just like when you search for the item ‘A’. In particular, this guy with a shell has so many thoughts on his mind that I lose track of time all day long. It looks like some kind of grape vine.
‘Actually, I found the plan the professor put together, but there’s no need to tell me about it, right?’
It wasn’t a lie to say that reading memories was complicated. When someone thinks of ‘apple’, keywords such as sweet and red fruit unconsciously follow, and memories derived from those words start to come to mind.
But who is he? Aren’t they born from birth as deformed creatures born in someone else’s consciousness?
Hyde had already found ‘the old picture counterpart method easily explained for Ian and Bex’ in the professor’s complicated memories.
=====
1. Take your time. A powerful mental wave generated during a runaway. It rang throughout District 47 during the last explosion, so it is certain that there will be no one in District 47 who did not hear it this time as well. Of course, the Dome would have heard this, so if we wait a little longer, people from the inspection department will come flocking to us like bees. Since they are experts, you can leave the rest to them.
2. I don’t know how many people from the executive branch would have been deployed here, but there would have been people left behind to sympathize with the Raptor attack. Terrorism will inevitably occur in both the core, which controls the city’s total power, and the city defense turret control center. Since the inspection department is away, if even the city defense agency is attacked, the dome will become Muju Communist. Be sure to intervene and stop it. Since our own management personnel are not civilians, even a little warning would be of great help.
3. The situation ends when the Raptor’s surprise attack is prevented and the Exosuit unit of the Inspection Department, which solved the Old Picture, returns and hits the back of the Raptor forces. Once we resolve the remaining issues, this matter will be over.
Conclusion: I take my time in the car and when the kids come, I head to the dome.
=====
Memories that are neatly organized for display, as if they were deliberately repeated over and over for someone to see. It must have been a message to Hyde in case he lost consciousness. I thought it would be okay to move like this.
It’s definitely a good plan. The safety of the party is the top priority, so it is a plan that can be effective even if you intervene in the situation and get out of it with some difficulty.
Hyde was dissatisfied with that.
‘It was my first time coming to this world. There are monsters that big! There are some people who have pledged to be enemies for life! He’s a trustworthy companion, and there’s a lot of amazing weapons piled up in that cargo bay, but he just passes by on a side leg and it’s over! That can never happen. cancer! ‘You can’t do that!’
Safety is important. If Professor Shell’s body dies, he himself dies.
It is also important to follow the rules set by the shell. It eats people just because it goes outside. If you throw it away and go out to play, saying, “I don’t know what’s going on,” from then on, it will become a complete object of caution, and the shell will never make plans assuming a situation where Hyde will come out again.
But the most important thing was that whatever we did, it had to be fun enough for him to like.
Tower jacking in Tobrunn? It was fun. Because I was able to destroy the magic tower that was controlling a city and fight against a 6th rank wizard with all my might.
A fight against a Demonized Lich Warlock? Needless to say! The adrenaline you feel as you go back and forth between life and death! excitement! Pleasure! I would have been angry if I hadn’t called him!
‘fun. I want to have fun! Joy and sadness! Hope, despair, happiness and even misfortune! Any stimulation is so precious! Ah, it’s fun! ‘The precarious life of a shell is so enjoyable!!!’
After Hyde was born, it was not the memories he experienced through the professor’s memories and blurred senses, but what Hyde actually experienced when he went out into the world was a time when his life was at stake, facing a powerful enemy, or an intense feeling of crisis running down his spine. So.
In Hyde’s soul, those moments had become his real ‘life’.
Hyde It’s been a long time since he became addicted to such strong stimulation.
“First of all, I have to have a fight with that big guy.”
That was why Hyde came up with a plan that was completely different from the professor’s plan.
We will follow the professor’s wishes to save the party, protect Area 47 from the Raptors, and ensure survival. But the method will be a little different from his.
“Shit. As expected, I can’t just pass by…”
“That’s right. As you can see from what he does, he seems like a creature that is more focused on the mental side than the physical side. That guy has turned his head? “Then where is the place that attracts the most attention?”
“Dom… I guess?”
Sigh!
“answer! Because this is where the most ‘consciousness’ is concentrated. I don’t know why you project your past onto others, but there must be a reason for doing that, right? “Then wouldn’t the place where the most memories can be conveyed with a single cry be inside the dome walls, which are overflowing with civilians?”
‘what? I picked up whatever came to mind and swallowed it, but now that I’ve said it, it seems plausible, right?’
I am quoting the professor’s thoughts as to whether there is a reason why old pictures continuously emit such unusual mental waves. However, the words that followed were just words he spewed out in an attempt to persuade Ian and Bex, but when he actually said them, they actually made sense.
‘Hey… there’s nothing compared to peeking from inside, right? ‘The performance is amazing!’
This was Hyde’s opinion after directly using the professor’s brain. Up until now, we’d just fought like crazy as soon as we came out, but this was the first time I’d had such complicated thoughts. When I thought of one object, my thoughts branched out and expanded so quickly that it was difficult for my mind to keep up.
Hyde was starting to like being outside more and more.
“Good Joe. Why? Need to stop Old Picture from attacking the dome? we?”
“Because you want to live?”
Hyde answered Bex’s question immediately without hesitation for a moment.
“Now look. Raptor Society. Famous for mobility, firepower, and thorough military discipline. Dome on the contrary. Famous for urban warfare, mechanized infantry warfare…or rather, base defense warfare. This is a rough summary of the military characteristics of the two groups. Dom is famous for never losing in his territory, especially in city defense battles. “You guys know why, right?”
“You can’t know. I’m a believer in gunpowder weapons, but the Dome’s overwhelming weapons used to defend the old civilization… I was truly beside myself. “My mouth dropped open and my jaw almost dropped once again.”
The mandate of at least three hours of manpower development per day given to an incredibly dense population. The city defense facilities of the old civilization are operated using the enormous amount of power accumulated through it and that power.
When it comes to city defense, the Dome boasts firepower that is close to that of the former’s prime.
“okay. Old civilization defensive firearms. Kandal-class stationary railgun, plasma wall, polarization, ultra-strong electromagnet, etc…. This is why Dome’s reputation was able to spread around the world. However, as it is such an important facility, it is operated through very complex steps. What would happen if Old Picture pushed in with that big body and gave just one hard blow?”
“…The city will be paralyzed.”
“yes! Civilians, troops, and management personnel were all holding their heads and saying, ‘Ugh! I’m such a bastard! ‘I want to die!’ And I’ll whimper. My friends in the executive department said that they probably prepared such a play for 100%, but even without a play, if Old Picture had been properly stimulated, there would have been a very high probability of attacking the city. If the city is paralyzed like that, there will be no management manpower to operate the city’s old defense facilities, and if those black reptile friends rush into the city where the damn defense facilities are down….” “The
Raptor…. Area 47 “You will eat it.”
Clap clap clap!
Hyde clapped his hands with exaggerated gestures and winked at Ian, who had reached a conclusion.
“yes! Now that rock-like head is starting to roll! All of HIV are wanted by Raptor. You can no longer live in the professor’s shelter, and it will be quite difficult to escape from the raptors that have taken over the area. Even if you run away from here, you will be caught soon. You know what? How do the raptors use captured humans? Metal Joe, you’re from Raptor? “Don’t you know better?”
“….biodiesel. “If I think about it, it makes me vomit, so let’s stop talking about it.”
Churrup!
Hyde unconsciously wiped the drool that was forming in his mouth. The raptor friends seemed to have quite similar tastes, perhaps because their names were man-eating dinosaurs. Squeezing a human who has reached the end of their usefulness to extract oil. As the Raptor Society consumes a lot of oil, they searched for a substitute for gasoline in many ways and came up with the amazing idea of ‘biodiesel’.
“Anyway, if that guy goes to the dome, we’ll all die. However, if you just block it carelessly, you will get hit with the polite [Kwaaaaang!] and your brain will turn to mush and you will die. If you’re going to get his attention, you need to give him a very powerful blow. At least it’s a blow so powerful that he can’t scream.”
“It’s firepower… I brought some of it in the car, but is it okay to use it? “The professor had something planned and asked me to bring it.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. At that time, I thought it was just a normal play and prepared for it. After the play ends safely, I brought it as a free gift to apologize to the people of District 47, to manage my BDSM image, and to give it to them. Even if it’s a promotional B product, it’s still metal. It’s a standard that only applies to rich people like you, but it’s an incredibly high-end product for ordinary survivors. “It will be more than enough compensation for wasting a day.”
Well, if things happen like this, ultimately it will be blamed on the losing side.
Sigh-!
As Hyde continued, Ian stopped the car and stayed still for a moment.
“why? what?”
“…Tsk. “I feel like your way of speaking is becoming more and more similar to that of a professor.”
“oh! so? “Have you developed some intimacy?”
“no. It became more disgusting. get off! “In the end, you have to be armed because you’re going to have to beat that monster up hard.”
“oh! Armed! Show me the gun! “I want to shoot a gun – ugh!”
Ian opened the door, pushed the fussing Hyde away with his foot, then got out of the truck and opened the cargo area.
Rumbling- Rumbling!
“Choose what you like. I know you prefer small and powerful things, but this time you’re not killing people, you’re killing monsters. “I’ll let you choose yours-”
“Wow!!!”
Just as he was about to recommend armament to Vex, who was silently following him with a still anxious face, Ian heard a loud cheer coming from the side and unknowingly turned his head in that direction.
“It’s a gun! GUN! weapon! gunpowder! It’s real! It’s not in my memory! “It’s a real gun!”
There was Hyde, jumping into a mountain of wooden boxes and plucking open the lids with a hammer.
click! Clap, clap, clap!
“Berata 92! An automatic pistol produced by the Italian company Beretta! It’s safe to say that he was the guy in charge of an era! Mmm, the smell of metal! “I think it smells like blood because it’s a model that has consumed a lot of blood over the long period of use!”
Rattling!
“FN P90! AKA dodgeball! This is something I really hate about professors! During the Special Operations Forces days, a guy who was thought to be dead was knocked over and scratched, so the professor himself got hit in the leg and one of his unit members died! Wow, I’ve seen that memory dozens of times. “I never thought I would see this in real life!”
Contrary to what I expected, the response was very professional and fanatical.
Bex looked at Ian without realizing it. When the two of us lived together, whenever a new firearm came in, this guy showed the same look as that one.
“Uh um… you know very well… do you?”
“of course! I’ve read the professor’s memories, especially the ones related to guns, over and over again hundreds of times! The one here is the same model that the gun shop at the entrance was selling when the professor first went to the offline market. I wanted it so bad, but it was so expensive that I just drooled over its shell. This is the guy who saved his life during the defense of Tarel Ground, and if I tell you everything, the sky is the limit…”
Clap!
Hyde took out one particularly large revolver among the piles of used firearms.
“This guy. The S&W M500 is something really special to me. “When the professor used magic in the other world, he imagined this and shot a bullet made of that blood.”
Ian nodded without realizing it when he saw the gun that Hyde had carefully taken out like a treasure.
S&W M500. He’s an attractive guy.
A revolver-type 5-round chamber in a long barrel.
As the name suggests, it uses 500 S&W Magnum bullets, which produce nearly twice the kinetic energy of the 50AE bullet of the Desert Eagle, a superstar of large-caliber pistols.
Compared to his handsome manliness, he is completely poor in terms of weight, magazine capacity, and practicality, so he is not very popular, and Ian himself is not very interested in handguns, so he classified it as a promotional item.
‘I think… maybe he’s not that bad of a guy?’
Ian’s eyes were suddenly turning warm as he saw Hyde looking at the ugly pistol like a fan who was intuitively aware of an idol.
“Hmm! Parasite…. Hyde. “He was more stylish than I thought.”
“Hehehe. Can I have this? “The shell knows how to shoot, so I can use it well!”
“Hmm! Whatever you like. “The bullet is in the corner, so take it.”
“thank you! Thank you so much, Metaljo! I shouldn’t do this, I should try using it right now-”
Clap!
“Wow!!! grenade! M67! “My nickname is Apple because of my round appearance!”
Excited.
“Exploding! “It’s a bomb!!”
Exciting! Thump! Thump!
Hyde looks as excited as a child visiting Disneyland for the first time.
Ian’s heart began to beat involuntarily as he looked at Hyde, who had the face of a professor and was looking at the firearms in front of him as if they were the greatest treasures of his life.
The Professor and Vex. They were good friends, but there was just one thing that was disappointing.
Ian had been dreaming for a long time. If there’s a cool weapon in front of you, you want a friend with the same tastes as him, with whom you can stay up for three nights discussing the weapon.
Although it was a parasite inside the professor’s body, its soul was a soul with a different trigger and fuse than the professor’s. Like him, crazy about gunpowder and bullets.
Heejuuuk!
In the end, Ian failed to control the corners of his mouth.
[He’s definitely a threat to my life, but somehow I can’t hate him.]
‘Ah, Professor Park. ‘I couldn’t understand what you said.’
“Hey Hyde.”
“why? no way···. “Can’t you give me this?”
“I can’t give it to you. Have everything you want. However, Apple’s firepower is anti-personnel and its range relies on muscle strength, so it is difficult to use in the current situation. “How about using this grenade launcher instead?”
“Oooh! Grenade launcher! “It’s awesome!”
Hehehe!
Giggling!
Ian and Hyde have forgotten the urgent situation and are absorbed in weapon talk.
Vex, who was fiddling with the RPG launcher in one corner, was looking at the two with even more anxious eyes.
***
Crash- Clap- Clap-
Clap- Clap- Clap-
“Listen carefully, you idiot. About 15 minutes until reinforcements arrive. In the meantime, the two of us must stop Old Picture.”
Looking at the giant body of the Old Picture looming in the distance, Ralph Monclar said to the new member of the inspection department who came out with him.
“Even though the suit’s shield blocks his mental waves to some extent, it cannot completely block the mental waves in that state. It only takes 2 or 3 times at most for us to lose our minds. So before that happens, we have to turn his attention completely towards us and escape with all our might.”
“It catches the attention of that big guy… I guess a snapshot wouldn’t be enough, right? Should I at least dance in front of my eyes?”
‘Maybe this idiot will be fine. ‘If depression was a problem, this guy would definitely be avoided.’
Monclar thought as he looked at his subordinate Ezel, who looked light all the time, unlike him who was risking his life. If he were to choose the person in the world who is the furthest from depression, he would not hesitate to choose this perverse subordinate.
“So you brought that with you. Thunder Clap.”
Actually, I had no intention of involving other members in this kind of suicide mission, but I couldn’t just leave it behind because I needed the weapons that Ezel had already attached to the exosuit. Thunderclap. When dealing with Old Picture for the first time, a weapon was specially developed to deal with large mutants after barely defeating it with a brute force and causing countless casualties.
The Thunder Clap was a weapon consisting of a compressed battery and two armored parts connected to it. It is a weapon that emits a huge amount of power for a short period of time through the armored parts installed on both hands of the exosuit. It is named so because the moment it is activated and the sound of electricity popping out resembles applause.
‘If eight or seven more exosuits equipped with thunder claps had come along, we could have moved to suppress them, but… the situation is not conducive. Still, it might be enough to get some attention.’
The downside is that it is based on very close combat and consumes power quickly, which limits the use of shields and other auxiliary devices. If you think about it against Old Picture, it means that you have to endure a direct hit of its mental waves with a thinned shield right in front of its nose.
“….sorry. “For no reason, they dragged you in, even though you had only recently joined the inspection department.”
“Hey, by the way. If I hadn’t come with you anyway, I would have come out alone, right? Thank you for coming with us, Director Mong!”
“Funny guy. “If you survive, you’ll become big, you idiot!”
Clap! Clap!
With such determination, Dugi’s exosuit arrived at the central area. As the two were preparing to rush in, something strange caught their eye.
“what? “I’m being chased by something…?”
“It’s not bad news. It means that someone is attracting attention before us… Hopefully, we won’t have to contact him until the main force arrives. It’s a large truck painted black… Is it a Raptor? Looking at its shape, it looks like a Raptor armored truck, but it doesn’t have their mark, so it’s ambiguous. Do you happen to recognize who that is? “I heard gunshots, so it looks like they’re moving with the goal of drawing him in.”
“well? “It’s a bit ambiguous because it’s not equipped with a telescopic organ…!!!!”
At that moment, Ezel’s eyes brightened. A black armored truck without the Raptor mark that I saw when I went to the professor’s shelter before. And a group of professors who were made to participate in the play by the executive branch.
Connecting the two situations, it wasn’t that difficult to guess who the person in the truck in front of was.
“oh my god···. “Why are they always at the center of whatever happens?”
“why. “I don’t know what… Where are you going?”
Clap, clap, clap!
“hey! wait! Now there’s no need for us to go first and get their attention! You idiot! “Hey, I’m m-”
Ralph stopped his subordinate who was suddenly moving forward as if he was possessed, but he said,
“I have some circumstances, so I’m going first, boss!”
“You bastard, get out there right now! Hey hey!!!”
Clang, clank, clank, clank!
Ezel was already running towards the armored truck and the Old Picture that was following behind it.
***
