NOVEL NEXT Chapter 218
Chapter 218. The Heart of the Foundation (2)
Facility No. 1 is said to be located in the middle of the Nevada desert in the United States. I closed my eyes and rolled my head around. How are we going to attack it?
We’ll throw everything we have into it.
If Iris is telling the truth, Facility No. 1 completely neutralizes supernatural phenomena within a radius of a few kilometers. Behind high concrete walls.
There’s only one way. Surround Facility No. 1, then physically break through the walls and go in.
As I said before, you can’t just teleport or warp anywhere.
I didn’t explain in detail, but the teleportation our allies use is only possible because I’m closely connected to the Infinite Library and the main body of Blue Rose.
Even then, teleporting underground or inside buildings is difficult, and moving into buildings protected by magical means is impossible. Anyway, they said supernatural phenomena can’t exert their power inside Facility No. 1…
We’ll attack the facility from six directions. Let’s recall the incantation Dr. Chae used.
If you listen closely to the incantation, there’s a part where it declares that no evil can approach from the four cardinal directions, above, or below.
In a magical sense, blocking the four directions and above and below has great symbolic meaning. Until now, we haven’t had to attack anything like this.
We’ll send Hasti to the east.
Along with the Azure Dragon Special Forces.
We’ll send Lee Se-ah to the west.
With Walpurgis and Cernunnos.
We’ll send Dr. Chae to the south.
With Dr. Chloe and the Golden Rooster Special Forces.
I’ll go to the north.
With the soldiers from the Seoul Branch.
Zenith, that is, we’ll also attack from above the facility. It’ll be difficult to deploy fighters or transport planes in U.S. airspace…
Is it impossible? Maybe we need to think of another way. There are plenty of flying supernatural phenomena.
Let’s send the Black Dragon to Zenith. We might be able to deploy other flying supernatural phenomena.
Finally, Nadir, that is, we’ll deploy the Special Forces ‘Mole Rats’ from below the facility. Along with a giant tunnel-digging machine.
That was my plan so far.
[I’m not sure if it’ll go according to plan.]
“Why?”
I took out the Crystal Clock from my pocket.
[You said supernatural phenomena don’t work inside. Even if we deploy allies to Facility No. 1, what guarantee is there that the soldiers will listen to you?]
“People usually listen to their superiors, most of the time. Why do you think people listen to me because of supernatural phenomena?”
[Isn’t it too dangerous?]
“It is dangerous. Think of it simply. If I enter that facility, I’ll become the highest-ranking person in Facility No. 1. I’ll also become the commanding authority for Facility No. 1.”
[Isn’t that oversimplifying it?]
“I have a plan.”
[I thought there was a magic button in Facility No. 1. Press it and become the king of the Foundation.]
“There’s no such thing.”
I didn’t explain the plan in detail.
The Crystal Clock isn’t going to fight directly. No need to reveal the plan unnecessarily. There are three solutions to every problem.
Even though Pixel and Iris have been subdued, we don’t know who’s listening.
The final war.
Iris said that inside Facility No. 1, all supernatural phenomena are neutralized. If we can’t use supernatural phenomena inside Facility No. 1, we’ll have to find a way to fight without them.
Mages will be useless. I’ll also be significantly weakened, but my goal is to get inside Facility No. 1.
I have no choice but to go in.
I have plenty of cards to play.
The Seoul Branch and I have quite a few Overtech weapons. They’re generally more expensive and less effective than supernatural phenomena, but still.
What comes to mind now is the Soviet-made Laser Gun and the energy shield used by the Research Department Head. If we look, there should be a few more at the Seoul Branch.
This is the Research Department, Mechanical Division meeting room.
The Research Department Head and a few scientists from the Research Department were gathered in the meeting room. The purpose of the meeting, as mentioned earlier, was to discuss means of fighting in a situation without supernatural phenomena.
“So. You’re here to buy weapons?”
Lee Se-ah clapped her hands.
“Research Department Head. The equipment at the Seoul Branch is originally mine. I’m not here to buy.”
I shook my head. Lee Se-ah scratched her head awkwardly, as if there was no other way.
“That’s just a figure of speech. Anyway, we’ve prepared quite a bit for this operation. It’s the result of the combined engineering power of the Seoul Branch, Tokyo Branch, and Beijing Branch.”
I nodded.
The Research Department Head’s presentation began.
First Overtech weapon.
Energy Shield.
“It looks like a regular police shield, about the size of a person’s torso, that you can strap to your arm. But when you activate the energy shield, it can block large-caliber bullets. The energy shield is a bit larger than the shield itself. Roughly the size of a person.”
“Does it really block bullets?”
“See for yourself.”
On the other side of the meeting room, an engineer from the Mechanical Division held up the shield and activated the energy field. Lee Se-ah pulled out a pistol from somewhere.
“Watch this…”
Bang!
The lead bullet crumpled and fell to the ground.
“Hey, Department Head. If you were going to do this, why not explain it in the workshop? It’s a hassle to clean up.”
“Next time, I will. Anyway…”
I looked at how the shield worked.
The Energy Shield is made of nano-material, making it completely bulletproof, and when the energy field is activated, it can block large-caliber firearms.
“The shield itself is made of nano-material, but it takes a long time to produce and is expensive. So far, we’ve only made two.”
The presentation moved to the next slide.
Second Overtech weapon.
Energy Chain Armor.
“This is armor based on a similar concept to the shield earlier. It’s flexible armor that covers the torso and limbs, with nano-material. These can also block large-caliber firearms when the energy field is activated.”
“It’s electronic equipment, right? What happens if it gets hit by an EMP or something?”
Lee Se-ah scratched her head.
“Well, there’s a protective circuit, but even if it gets disabled by an EMP or something, the nano-particle bulletproof shield and bulletproof vest will remain.”
“Nano itself isn’t electronic equipment, right?”
The Research Department Head nodded.
Thinking about it, it’s obvious. Making nano-material is difficult, but it’s not electronic equipment itself. This means it can’t be disabled by hacking or electromagnetic shockwaves.
“Understood.”
Next slide.
Third Overtech weapon.
Artificial Muscle Suit.
“This is equipment the Director has used before. It’s a bit more refined than what was used back then, though. It has nano-fibers for muscle imitation and will increase strength. This can also operate without electronic equipment.”
I tilted my head.
“How is that possible?”
“Simply put, the artificial muscle fibers mechanically detect the movement of nearby real muscles and mimic their activity.”
After some thought, it seems theoretically possible. Some pretty weird stuff is possible. Lee Se-ah looked at me proudly.
“Understood.”
Fourth Overtech weapon.
Monomolecular Katana.
“You really have to be careful with this. The researcher who brought it had his finger cut off. It’s lucky it was just a finger. If this thing even grazes you, you’ll be sliced in half…”
I nodded.
“It’s safe if it’s in the sheath, right?”
“Well. The sheath can also be cut, so you have to handle it carefully. There’s a button on the handle, like an umbrella, that you press to extend the monomolecular blade. This also doesn’t use electronic equipment.”
It’s much more meticulously made than I thought.
Lastly.
“Yes. I looked at Dr. Kim’s combat records, and you used your wings quite effectively. You used them more for beating people up close than for flying.”
“Well… if you fly up to the enemy, there’s nothing else to do but hit them.”
The Research Department Head nodded.
“So we made a robot arm. You know Dr. Octopus, right? Think of that.”
“Won’t it be heavy?”
The machine Lee Se-ah was boasting about was four mechanical tentacle arms about the length of a person. The robot tentacle arms were attached to something like a backpack.
“It’s not as heavy as it looks. About the weight of a full set of bulletproof gear? But there’s a bit of electronic equipment in this. It’s not just nano-material, but also nano-robots.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, you can use the robot arms to push off the ground. It’ll actually help with movement.”
I’m not sure how to use it.
“Let’s see.”
I walked to the other side of the meeting room and tried on the robot arms.
Whirrr. Whiiir.
It was noisier than I thought.
I tried to stand up using the robot arms. The robot arms were much stronger than I expected.
I could move almost as fast as running. With a bit of practice, I might be able to run like a four-legged animal.
Standing on two legs and using the robot arms was also possible without much difficulty. It was much better to use one arm to push off the ground than to use all four at the same time.
Let’s wrap this up.
“Good job, everyone.”
Lee Se-ah smiled, and the engineers gathered in the meeting room bowed to me.