13. First Mission (3)

“Let’s head out.”

Having secured medical supplies and practitioners, there was no reason to stay here any longer. The team nodded and led the way out of room 1501.

Kwang Hwi extended his arms. “Wait.”

“W-what’s wrong?” The restrained general looked at Kwang Hwi with puzzlement.

“You can’t come with us,” replied Kwang Hwi. A high ranking official was both useless and risky. “I’m the leader,” Kwang Hwi continued. “I don’t know who you are, but I can’t let you go around acting like some kind of big shot.”

“W-who said I’d do that?!” His flustered reaction gave away his intention to do so. From the general’s point of view, the sky was the limit with an armed force such as the one in front of him. Unfortunately, due to Kwang Hwi’s unique relationship with his militia, it was painfully obvious to everyone that his chances of success were slim to none.

“Either way, you can’t come with us.”

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Kwang Hwi walked away and the general’s face paled.

‘W-what should I do?’ He bit his lip—he couldn’t have begun to imagine how poorly this situation had gone. He had hoped that his men would eventually come save him, but given the current circumstances, he had to cling onto the man in front of him to survive.

“Wait! Let’s make a deal!”

Kwang Hwi stopped and turned to the general. He fiddled with his gun and played with his finger dangerously close to the trigger.

“…A deal?”

“If you can ensure my safety, I can promise you something useful.”

“Something useful?”

“A Heron.”

Kwang Hwi furrowed his brow. ‘Does he mean…?’

“Are you talking about the UAV Heron?” he asked.

“What other Heron could I be talking about?” The general sighed with relief. The general wagered that the leader of a militia group would be interested in military equipment.

‘A Heron…’ Kwang Hwi’s expression belied his interest. The Heron was a medium-altitude UAV manufactured by Israel’s IAI. It was extremely popular in South Korea, able to operate continuously up to 52 hours at a time with a range of 3,300 km—enough to scout both China and Japan from South Korea. While it wasn’t needed right this moment, it was a necessary component to grow by leaps and bounds in the future.

He paused. He was willing to accept the offer, but what if it turned out like the guns? He rationalized to himself that it wasn’t a firearm. While some UAVs had weapons attached, the Heron was fundamentally a reconnaissance vehicle.

『IAI UAV Heron』 『Price: 1,000,000 MP.』 『Would you like to purchase?』

Under [Communications/Reconnaissance], the Heron cost an astronomical 1,000,000 MP. When Kwang Hwi thought about the paltry 190,000 MP he had gained so far, he was flabbergasted.

‘I guess it’s worth the risk.’ If he only had to save one person, it was worth the trouble. Plus, if his hypothesis was correct, there was an opportunity under the surface.

“Alright, deal. But …” His apathetic eyes bore down on the general. “If you try anything funny…”

“I—I know!” The general choked out the words and failed to meet Kwang Hwi’s eyes.

The two of them were the last to leave the VIP hospital room. Without warning, a Blister ambushed them. The general recoiled in shock, but Kwang Hwi casually aimed his gun at the Blister and stepped in the way of the Blister and its prey. Until Kwang Hwi claimed possession of the Heron, he would treat the general as a VIP.

The Blister’s abdomen burst apart from the spray of bullets and it collapsed.

“Please give me a gun…” the general pleaded.

“No.” Kwang Hwi’s sharp glance made the general curb his avarice.

The team and the survivors were already waiting in vehicles.

“Alright, we’ll be going back to base.”

The line of vehicles turned around and left the hospital. Unlike when they arrived, Kwang Hwi’s SUV led the way, while the Medium Tactical Vehicle carrying survivors and supplies brought up the rear.

***

The Blister Lord watched the men depart from his perch. He had been curious as to what humans would approach him so recklessly and had chosen to simply observe from afar for the time being. He quickly realized he had made the right choice—these humans slaughtered countless of his minions in the hospital. For now, there was nothing to do but bide his time.

***

“To the boss! Salute!”

The patrol guards hurriedly raised their hands to salute their commander. He noted with satisfaction that the exterior walls of the containers had been painted black, making them even more daunting than before.

As soon as he entered the base, notifications popped into view.

『Mission Complete』 『Secured the necessary medical supplies from Dongducheon General Hospital.』 『You have obtained 300,000 MP as a reward.』 『Unlocked Armored Vehicle category.』

“Keep an eye on him around the clock. He is not allowed out of sight.”

“W-what! I said I wouldn’t do anything strange!” The protest was in vain.

After commanding his subordinates to keep the general under heavy military surveillance, Kwang Hwi headed to his office. Soo Min, who was talking to the other soldiers, stopped and greeted him warmly.

“You’re back, boss! Did you get what you needed?”

Wordlessly, Kwang Hwi went to the whiteboard.

Supplies – On Demand (Secured Medical Supplies)

“This time, I brought doctors and nurses from the hospital. Establish a medical system around them.”

“Understood!”

Satisfied, Kwang Hwi entered the Merit Shop, and selected the [Armored Vehicle] category.

『IFV K-21』 『IFV BMP-3』 『IFV LAV-25』 『IAV Stryker』 『APC BTR-90』

The category started off with all kinds of armored vehicles used in Korea, the USA, Russia, and so on.

『K1A1 Tank』 『K2 Black Panther』 『M1A2 Abrams』 『AMX-56 Leclerc』 『Merkava Mk. 4』 『Leopard 2』 『T-90』 『Type 99』

As he went through the list, it even progressed to tanks. Hundreds of vehicles were listed. Vehicles with a big and beautiful cannon, a sturdy looking armored plate, and a continuous track that looked like it could crush anything in its path. With great reluctance, Kwang Hwi tore his glance away from the tanks in front of him. ‘Not yet.’ A tank certainly had its appeal, but he needed to prioritize transforming his team into mechanized infantry.

He paused, as his eyes lit up as he scrolled through the APCs.

『APC Namer』 『A heavy armored personnel carrier developed in Israel. Shares the same body frame as the Merkava Mk. 4. Widely considered to have the most superior defense amongst APCs.』

Kwang Hwi had heard of this vehicle before. It was an APC from Israel designed to protect the relatively small Israeli armed forces. The more he thought about it, the more he realized his situation was similar to Israel’s. He was short on combat personnel. Naturally, he couldn’t stop looking at the Namer. ‘Do I even have enough?’

『Price: 320,000 MP』 『Would you like to purchase?』

After his latest mission, Kwang Hwi now had 490,000 MP. He resolved himself and purchased it.

『Purchase complete.』 『Please confirm the location to deploy vehicle.』

A red rectangle appeared in front of Kwang Hwi. He focused the rectangle to the parking lot in front of the house. A Namer appeared on the gravel out of thin air. Its body was painted in khaki, and a machine gun and a 30mm autocannon were mounted. Inside, a RCWS system was installed to remotely control the autocannon. The people standing nearby jumped back in surprise. Soo Min stared blankly at the APC, and then back at Kwang Hwi.

“Boss, is this also your ability…?”

Kwang Hwi nodded resolutely. “Who do we have that can operate an APC?”

“Including Jackson, 3 people.”

“That’s more than enough.”