Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse Chapter 40

Hiding a Logistics Center in the Apocalypse – Part 40

(Magic Rental Shop in the Cave (2))

Rain, rain.

First of all, I fed him rice.

Awakened survivors including Baek Min-woo.

And the officers and soldiers of the 507th Brigade ate food like crazy.

There were some dishes that my mother and Oh Ji-su had made that were registered as products, and I mixed in a few simple instant foods that I got from the Fresh Center.

It was a meal that was invaluable to them, who had no combat rations and were surviving on a few bags of dry bread.

Minwoo looked at me and his eyes lit up.

“Thank you, Colonel Kim.”

“······”

Before I went into the military, I had lunch with this guy all through my first and second years of college.

Come to think of it, I once had a meal at Minwoo's house.

Coincidentally, it was the first full moon of the lunar year, and Minwoo's mother had us sit down at the table next to each other, saying that we should eat five-grain rice on this day to receive good fortune.

I remembered that day when I chewed the glutinous rice at least ten times, and as many as thirty times, as instructed by her.

Moreover, while chewing on the bitter taste coming from the grains, I quietly looked at the empty house that was left alone with my mother and Minwoo.

Rain, rain.

I was feeding Minwoo with my own hands.

It wasn't that much time had passed, and feeding someone a meal was no big deal, but I could feel the world turning upside down like a full moon.

At the moment when Minwoo had filled his stomach.

When I gave him the chocolate milk he usually drank, he told me about what had happened in Incheon.

“There was a bidding competition here too. Those who had awakened tried to compete, but they were no match for each other. I also participated. I had awakened as an inspector class. In the end, I wasn’t of much help, but…”

Minwoo practiced kendo even before the destruction.

He said that he had even won second place in a local competition during middle school, and it seemed like his skills hadn't gone anywhere.

I didn't ask how the bidding competition was in Incheon.

The local leader was killed, and only thirty out of 100 people survived.

There is no need to remind us of that disastrous situation.

but···

“···Is your mother okay?”

It seemed like my question dug deeper into Minwoo’s heart.

The guy dropped his head.

Minwoo stayed in the dormitory during the semester, but during vacations, he would return home to Incheon to stay with his mother.

If nothing had happened, I would have stayed with my mother.

Minwoo answered.

“That’s why I volunteered to be a bidder. I had to get those bastards out of here…”

Minwoo's house was in a residential area behind Chinatown.

However, soon after the destruction began, Chinatown and the adjacent Freedom Park became a battleground for bidding competition, and Minwoo was forced to be separated from his mother because they were blocked by a transparent barrier.

If we had pushed them back, we could have taken back Incheon and headed home.

But because the bidding competition failed…

“···Terraforming has been done. There is no barrier anymore, but you can’t enter even if you try. Right now, Chinatown is completely covered in caves.”

Gate portal built in Incheon.

It wasn't just enemy forces that it brought in.

Black mud flowing through the gate portal.

It climbed up from building to building, tree to tree, and soon hardened into the sky, turning the entire city of Incheon into a giant anthill with everything connected.

In a form where the beings of Sabros can reside comfortably and move around advantageously.

It was the perfect way to terraform.

Thud!

Minwoo grabbed my hand.

“Jeong-gyeom-ah. I heard that you became the representative of Seoul. I heard that you killed all the lizards that crossed over to Seoul. Please, I beg you. Please help me. I will fight with my life on the line.”

It was a desperate request, but it was also something that was expected.

In the first place, we came here to reclaim Incheon from the lizards of the Sabros dimension.

Moreover, it was a pleasure for me to save the guy's mother.

I still remember the bitter five-grain rice on the night of the first full moon of the lunar year.

Looking back, that's what it was.

My family is the closest to me.

These are the thickest roots and stems that make up my memories, but fate has countless other roots.

Of course, there are people I've lost contact with long ago.

Immediately after the destruction, communication equipment becomes unavailable and some people's whereabouts are unknown.

But, like when I met Baek Min-woo this time, I remember suddenly coming back and burning a thin wick, thinking, “Oh, that happened too.”

Although they were all vague memories, it was not pleasant to see the destruction like ink covering them all.

Of course, I can't be sure that I'll save them all.

But if they were to sweep away the destruction that had suddenly struck them from the front lines, light would come to them without them knowing it.

Just as saving Incheon means saving Minwoo's mother.

Minwoo added.

“The Gate Portal of Sabros has opened… but it’s not over yet. I said the Gate Core remains.”

“···There are still some left?”

A strange yolk that was once destroyed during a bidding war.

I thought it would form a gate portal and disappear on its own, but it seems that wasn't necessarily the case.

“That’s what the Chamber of Commerce said. If we destroy the gate core, we can close the gate to Sabros.”

A bidding war that was thought to have ended in defeat.

It was still going on.

I asked.

“Where is the gate hack now?”

"that is···"

Minwoo, who is hesitant and unable to answer.

Someone came and answered for him.

He was the operations chief of staff for the 507th Brigade.

“We’re still searching. The city has been covered in caves due to terraforming, so it’s not easy to search. We’ve flown drones several times, but they’ve all been shot down at the entrance. The reason we asked you to stop by this time was to explain to you about their cave area.”

He continued speaking.

“They don’t come out of the cave very often, but because terraforming is in progress, their territory is gradually expanding. If that doesn’t work out… we’re also considering requesting artillery support from the Marines.”

“Just a moment, sir!”

Minwoo, startled by the word “shelling,” intervened.

“What about the people down there?”

“If we don’t find the gate core, more than that will die. We won’t just bomb them indiscriminately. We’ll gradually expand the radius around where their gate portals are. Once we find them, we’ll stop bombing.”

It was a less-than-optimal decision for the operations staff.

A city covered in caves and the people trapped inside.

They would also be caught in the explosion, but it was clear as day that the damage would be even greater if they could not find the gate core.

but···

“I’ll find it for you. First, we need to get a little closer.”

I intervened.

Because there was no need to choose the second best option when the best was available.

It was time to utilize the ghosts of Camelot.

***

The location of the 507th Brigade is Bupyeong.

Therefore, in order to examine the situation in Incheon, it was necessary to approach it a little closer.

The cave walls of those guys that cover the city little by little.

Sabros' terraforming, which started in Chinatown, has now reached Jemulpo Station.

We settled down at Incheon National University's Jemulpo campus, not far from there.

From a distance, the mud from the Sabros dimension was slowly creeping over, but that was enough time.

Phew!

Phew!

Before we knew it, four knights had been summoned.

There were only eight ghosts left, but it was still a large number.

WHEEK!

These are the guys who can pass through terrain features.

The ghosts that had shot out towards Chinatown reached a nearby residential area and slowly descended the cave walls.

I, who had been sharing the gaze of the ghosts all along, smiled brightly as soon as the ghost Lionel passed through the familiar gate.

Then, he grabbed Minwoo's shoulder, who was anxiously waiting for the results.

“I hope your mother is safe.”

"what···?!"

Of course, I couldn't say that he was doing well.

A very dry sink.

An empty cupboard.

Minwoo's mother was lying on her side, looking lonely, having taken out a thick cotton quilt from an old mother-of-pearl chest.

Food and drinking water are all gone, and you can't even leave the house because of the monsters roaming outside.

There would have been no way to cope with the helplessness that was gnawing at my body.

No special addition was made to Minwoo.

I just told him that he was still safe and that we just had to destroy the gate core and rescue him.

“Thank you··· Thank you Jeonggyeom···”

Baek Min-woo with tears and a runny nose.

It's strange to say this, but I felt really uncomfortable with the guy's words of thanks.

I just hope that as soon as possible, we can go back to being our usual friends as if nothing happened.

And it was now up to me.

“Where should I look···”

Now it was time to find the 'gate core' of the Sabros dimension.

Their caves connected alleys and streets like complex blood vessels.

The ghosts passing through them traveled long distances and circled the same spot, constantly searching for the place where their hearts were hiding.

but···

'No matter how much I look, I can't see it?'

I found their gate.

A splendid portal of blue light.

Inside, lizardmen were still crawling out one or two at a time.

But even though they slowly expanded their territory from the surrounding area, they couldn't find any troops to guard it, let alone the gate core.

They were just focusing on terraforming, slowly covering Incheon, while managing the entrances and exits of the caves that stretched out here and there.

I was lost in thought for a moment.

Gate hack.

It was something that had to be protected even in the Sabros dimension.

Of course they would have hidden it in the best place they could find.

After mulling over various thoughts for a while, I came to one idea.

It's not a natural cave.

A cave area that has grown and been shaped by terraforming.

If so···

'There might be a completely secret room.'

It is an artificially created cave.

It wouldn't be strange if at least one 'secret room' was created.

He immediately instructed the ghosts to go through the entire wall.

And not long after···

I found a narrow room, lit by soft lights.

'···what?'

But its interior did not quite fit with the Sabros dimension.

An antique wooden desk.

Dozens of inkwells were stacked on top of it, and a small bookshelf behind the desk was filled with old scrolls of parchment, tied with string.

And as a result···

“Whoa! Whoa! What is this!”

An old human being was chasing away my eight ghosts.

A large nose, and fine gray hair.

But there was something eerie about those venomous eyes.

and···

Sure enough, it was here.

Gate core of the Sabros dimension.

The Gate Core, a spherical creature with short limbs and dangling eyes, nose, and mouth, was happily watching the wizard exorcising the ghosts.

The dough of life, that was exactly the impression I got.

It was a disgusting feeling, exactly like the one I felt when I destroyed the gate core of the Emes dimension.

The wizard, unable to bear to watch the ghosts, finally drew his sword.

To be exact, he rummaged through the bookshelf behind him, took out a scroll, and tore it open.

And then he shouted.

“Ah… ExoCycle!”

Whee!

A yellow curtain spread out around the parchment he had torn.

Five of the ghosts were pushed out of space, and the remaining three ghosts were destroyed on the spot.

Tiring!

[The Ghost of Camelot, Hector, Tristan, and Caradoc have been destroyed.]

[23h 59m left until reproduction···]

An old man whose identity is unknown.

I don't know how, but I was able to drive away the ghosts.

Moreover, judging from the way he was playing around with Sabros's gate core, it was difficult to see him as a human from Earth.

'It's definitely an extra-dimensional being.'

A space surrounded on all sides.

We finally found their heart, but there was an unexpected intruder lurking there.

“Of course, there’s no way there wouldn’t be someone guarding it.”

This time, I planned to go myself.

To his small room.

But before that···

“I should go first and take care of Modred’s hand.”

“I will do as you command.”

Modred, a ghost knight with the ability to [fluidize].

I was going to send him first.