Clearing the Game at the End of the World
Chapter 170: Lead and Silver Coins (24)

****

"But why are we hurrying like this? We've caught all the Investigation Bureau agents. There's no need to run away like this, choosing only back alleys as if we're being chased."

"It's precisely because we haven't caught them all that we're on the run. What we caught are just the tower's managing forces, basically nobodies. The real agents are probably running around with their feet on fire by now."

The reason the tower incident was resolved so smoothly was partly due to each individual's exceptional skills, but good timing played a role in about 70% of it. The Investigation Bureau agents who were actually capable had been out on operations to deal with a series of mishaps that had befallen them recently.

"Inside, there were beds and personal belongings everywhere, right? Did they choose the radio tower as their new headquarters after the east blew up? Given the situation, they must have left some defense forces behind, right?"

"Well, even if we couldn't identify friends from foes, the turrets were still operational. The moment an intruder commits a hostile act, it would pour out 7.62mm rounds at over 130 rounds per second. Given that 7 rounds weigh about 9.5 grams… just by weight, that's like shoving 1.2 kg of lead per second at you. Crazy turrets, hundreds of them laid out, but they probably didn't pay much attention to base defense. Well, they wouldn't have known that it could be neutralized with just a lighter."

Rotten to the core, they still represented one pillar of the 38th District's Dome authority. We only killed the attackers, not tracking down and eliminating all forces inside the tower, so there were definitely survivors, and it wouldn't take long for them to figure out who caused this mess.

Tatatat!

"Alley, footsteps!"

Footsteps coming from ahead. The tense breathing and the reflective light of metal were plainly visible in the alley.

"Th-this is it! Die!"

Thud!

Thirteen? Fourteen years old? The boy wielding a blade wrapped in cloth was kicked into the air by Ian's foot before he could even swing his weapon. Vex grimaced, but no one condemned his actions. After all, the boy had declared ‘die' with his own mouth.

"…Just a kid? Don't the usual street kids know the difference between who to attack and who not to?"

"Seems like there was a bounty on our heads."

"Hmph. No wonder the guy from the Investigation Bureau agents who came yesterday wouldn't shut up about how much money he had."

As the spokesperson from the Investigation Bureau agents had said the night before, their power was not in the radio tower they occupied or their agents, but in money. The immense financial power coming from the merchant groups colluding with authority. They must have slapped on bounties as soon as they realized they were attacked.

‘And if those rich guys really decided to put a bounty on us…'

Pfft-Whoosh

Thud!

"Sniper!"

"2 o'clock, residential! Rooftop or around the third floor!"

"Damn it, 2 o'clock! Got it!"

The sound of bullets slicing the wind followed by debris flying from the back wall.

The group quickly repeats the direction of the sniper and takes cover in the angles.

Professor sneakily peeks outside the alley and stretches his hand out.

Kakakang! Bang! Bang!

"…Seems like a draw?"

As soon as his left hand was exposed, bullets poured down. Judging by the accuracy and the fact they stopped firing right away, their response wasn't bad. They probably thought it wasn't a hand but some kind of decoy model because it didn't get scratched.

‘Tch. If they kept firing, I could have pinpointed their location for sure.'

Though he had a rough idea, since snipers specialize in shooting and moving, an approximate location wasn't very useful if he couldn't immediately charge at them.

"…One on the roof of a building with an awning on the first floor across from us. Not sure of the location, but three other snipers on different rooftops. They're good shots."

"Come to think of it, these guys prefer sniping since just putting a hole in the shield guarantees a radiation kill. Annoying bunch we've got here."

Ezel lifts his rifle with a tense expression. Though he's prepared to fire, the futility against high-ground snipers is evident in his biting lip with dissatisfaction.

"Bullet-eaters… The Investigation Bureau agents couldn't have arrived already… Co-workers?"

"Co-workers?" sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Yeah. Caravans. Scavengers. You've gone on business trips, killed everyone, and looted before, right? If you're walking around with a gun and selling stuff, you're a caravan. If you shoot and steal, you're a scavenger. If you chase bounties, you're a bounty hunter."

I remembered that there were quite a few others staying at the caravan lodging we had stayed in yesterday. Those who couldn't move due to the explosive increase in mutants outside and were thus stuck here. It must be frustrating to be stuck in the city, eating through money without being able to go out and sell goods.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bam!

"Ugh, damn it!"

As I was timing our exit, the muffled sound of a silencer was followed by debris flying from the back wall, causing Ian to stagger and lose his balance.

"Are you hit?!"

"…Just grazed. There's a bastard using ricochet shots! Left side, second floor, security bars!"

While Ian applied a hemostatic agent to his thigh, Vex dashed out instantly, hurling himself toward the entrance of the opposite building.

Ratatatatat!

Whizz – Whizz –

As if waiting for him, bullets chased Vex's footsteps, kicking up dust.

"…These motherfuckers really are asking for it!"

Ian, with his military pants covered in blood and white powder, threw a grenade into the building entrance. Following the explosion, which sent booby traps flying, Vex's shadow could be seen darting amidst the smoke.

Not a few seconds passed before a bloodied hand dangled out from the security bars where the sniper had been. A sign they had been dealt with.

Ian grumbled as he pulled a grenade launcher from his bag.

"…The trash from around here is even filthier than our local scum. Not just trigger-happy idiots. If we rush, we're done for."

"If we don't rush, we'll really be done for. Some people saw our car heading towards the administration area this morning. As long as they know our route, they'll keep coming. It's only because the bounty has just been placed that there aren't many of them yet."

"Then… we have no choice but to break through."

Click!

Thump-

The grenade launched from the launcher hit the wall of a dilapidated building.

Boom!

Crash!

Smoke billowed and fragments rained down like rain, with suppressive fire accurately poured into the alley where we were.

They really knew how to be annoying from afar.

Ratatat! Clang! Clang!

"Aargh! These damn snipers are the worst!"

"Hehehe. Hey, Cherry. Are you still scared of killing people? Huh?"

"Bullshit! When I catch those bastards, oh! I'll take their heads off and mount them on my car emblem!"

Ezel, bleeding from a cut caused by ricochet glass shards.

Suddenly brightening up as if he had remembered something, he rummaged through the pockets of the uniform he had looted.

"Smoke grenades! Damn, the dead guy in my hands is saving my life!"

"In a neighborhood crawling with snipers, it'd be odd not to carry smoke. Throw it ahead, and as soon as the smoke spreads, we run and get out of this alley!"

Ping-! Sssssss!

The smoke grenade Ezel threw landed precisely in an alley a block ahead, and the moment the smoke from the grenade and the launcher obscured everything above and below, the group dashed forward without a moment's hesitation.

"Run like hell to the administration area!"

"Up ahead, drifters! Five!"

"Kick them away! We don't have time to deal with that!"

"Damn it! We must have used up all our luck at the radio tower today!"

Tatatatat!

No matter how exceptional their personal combat abilities were, a bullet to the head meant death. Even for Professor's group, there was no way to counter snipers who had taken their positions.

15 minutes later.

Eventually, Ian had to use explosives he carried to create smoke in the back alleys and, through various tricks and maneuvers, they managed to break through the few blocks to reach the administration.

"Sanctuary-! Ugh!"

"Damn, we're alive! Damn it! Nearly shit myself!"

"What in the world happened to you all…"

Beeping-!

"Gasp!"

Arriving at the administration, covered in all sorts of glass shards and with heads split open from the debris of buildings they had blown up for smoke cover, their bodies and spirits were utterly shattered, incapable of any movement.

Seeing the administration's spokesperson, Karel, run out without even properly wearing his shoes and startled by the bullets bouncing off the shield, they finally felt, ‘Now we're truly safe!'

"Ughhh! Mr. Karel! We thought we were really going to die…"

"Please, I need a cigarette…"

"I want water. Ah, I want to drink water…"

"Aaaah…."

Professor's group, tossing aside any prestige or embarrassment as allies, simply collapsed at the entrance of the administration.

Karel Belmont gave some instructions to the people nearby before approaching the group.

"I heard the newsboys shouting about breaking news… What exactly did you do to have the Investigation Bureau agents put a 15 million shilling bounty on you?"

"If the people we work with don't know… We hit the radio tower."

"…You left this morning, didn't you?"

Karel looked at the clock hanging at the building's entrance. 11 AM. Not even five hours since they had departed.

"Don't tell me… You completed the operation you spoke of this morning in just one day?"

"Well, if it took any longer, it would have been considered a failure… Ah, forget it! Give me water before I die, water!"

"Liquor, cigarettes!"

"Ugh, just send me home…"

Professor's group, covered in blood, didn't even think of standing up, looking like children throwing a tantrum for ice cream, yet they were absurdly competent.

Rumble!

Hearing the news, doctors from the research wing rushed out, carrying various items.

"The rumored mutant fusion human from District 47 is injured!"

"I was so excited when I heard Evelyn from District 47's message! Professor Park himself has come!"

"Blood! He's bleeding! Bring that, bring that! Not the hemostatic, the sample containers!"

Afterwards.

After Professor bit into a saline solution bottle and Ian siphoned off disinfectant alcohol to drink, causing a commotion, Ian finally got his cigarette, Professor got enough water, and Ezel received sedatives, and the group could finally receive treatment.

"The master code connection is confirmed! The remote system control is back to normal!"

"Oh. Is that even possible?"

The researcher, who had been typing like playing a piano, smiled sheepishly at Professor's question.

"Even though we're in a cooperative relationship, there's hardly anything practically helpful we've done for you… So, this is the least we could do."

The master code Professor's group had inserted into the radio tower's central control room. Using it, the people from the administration connected to the tower system remotely and finally lifted the wide-area jamming that they hadn't been able to turn off in time.

"We've also secured the security facilities. We've wiped all the data contained within the security system's green zone and inserted the administration personnel data and your group's data, so now the Investigation Bureau agents can no longer use the tower."

Gulp- Gulp-

"Aah! Feels like I'm alive again. Well, it's nice to hear those guys got screwed over. But, securing the tower doesn't exactly benefit us, does it?"

Ian, already opening his second bottle of liquor, prompted the researchers who were glued to my left hand to throw glances at him as if they were looking at some kind of monkey.

"That's nonsense. Just like the 47th District Dome was established there because of Zeus, we're in the 38th District because of the radio tower."

Ian perked up at the mention of Zeus.

"Uh… So, does this thing shoot some kind of awesome beam or what?"

"Huhuhu. Not exactly, but it has an even more fantastic function. The radio tower is akin to the jewel in the crown of all information warfare technology from the old era. It's not all about brute-forcing with high output like wide-area jamming, right?"

The researcher said this while sneakily glancing at Karel. Once Karel nodded, they brought over a drone and showed its activated screen to the group.

=====

– Namsaeya: Hey, do the messages go through? Can you see this?

– bedulgyee: Oh, it's visible now. The control must be over.

– Namsaeya: With taxes and communication disruptions, if they're going to fight, they should fight amongst themselves, why dump it on us?

– bedulgyee: Watch your mouth. If someone sees this message, it won't end with just a report. How much food have you stocked up?

– Namsaeya: About a week's worth. It's scary. They say if you go out, you die.

.

.

.

=====

"….Looks like a regular chat room? Why show this?"

"Huhuhuhu…. That's because this isn't a public chat room but a private message sent to a specific person."

Professor pondered over each word said by the researcher. It wasn't a chat room but a private message. Private messages can't be seen by anyone other than the parties involved. The researcher was proudly showing off this private message, boasting about the capabilities of the radio tower.

"This… You intercepted this?"

"Yes! From the 41st to the 35th District, if it's within the tower's range, all communications can be intercepted- Aaack!"

I snatched the drone next to the researcher to bring it in front of me. Even now, the two people were exchanging messages in real-time. Despite discussing Dome's current policies in quite sensitive terms, their messages showed no hesitation. They were really intercepting private messages from GG.

"Incredible… This is even more powerful than Zeus?"

Interception. Disabled wide-area jamming. Passing information. Spies. The President's collaborator. The truth.

Thinking about what could be done with this device right away, a galaxy of keywords poured out in Professor's mind.

"Let… Let me borrow this for a bit."

"That, that's not difficult, but first, after your treatment…"

"Now!"

There was no time to hesitate.

Professor's mind was filled with the thought of pinning the coordinates of the 47th District into this interception device.

****

Sᴇarch the Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.