Apocalypse Shelter Administrator-Chapter 70: Upgrade (2)

A photo of a man, who had never touched a woman's buttocks until he was over 60, crying with joy. The entire country was moved. The soldier who gave me the magazine cried, I cried, and the Lebanese boy I passed it on to cried too.

[The implants and neural network have just begun to interact, so for now, you’ll only be able to ‘feel.' But as you get used to it, aside from acceleration, your overall physical abilities will improve.]

“This feeling is quite irritating. It’s like that nagging feeling when you’re trying to recall a memory but can’t… and it’s all over my body.”

[Bear with it. The implant inserted into your body is currently automatically mapping your neural network, which is why you feel that way.]

Since the installation of the acceleration implant, the nerves connected to it had been flashing signals continuously.

“How long will this neural network update take? At this rate, I’m not sure I can even sleep.”

[Another half a day, maybe? If the irritation is keeping you up, I have a good solution.]

“What’s the solution?”

[Just use up your stamina until you pass out. Normally, this would mean moving intensely for a long time and working up a sweat, but we now have a much more refined way to burn your stamina quickly, don’t we?]

It seemed Artemis was talking about using the implant.

I focused my mind on the implant embedded in my spinal cord. The On, Off of the implant inside my body. I could feel how to use it as naturally as if it had always been there, like bending and extending my arm.

[I understand you’re excited about gaining this powerful ability, but be careful. Your muscles and bones haven’t changed. At worst, you could tear ligaments or even break bones.]

Artemis warned me.

Not just “break,” but “shatter.” She was seriously trying to scare me.

“I’m aware.”

I had seen plenty of soldiers in active duty get carried away with new weapons or technology and end up dead. I was a combat engineer from a humble background with no implants.

Despite spending most of my career on deployments, preferring to be out in the field, I had survived with all limbs intact. This spoke volumes in many ways. Artemis knew my record well, so she didn’t push further with her warnings.

This was the first real test of the new power I had gained. A drone flew into the lab and approached me. It was one of the Hornet drones that Artemis had developed for city security management.

A pair of coaxial rotors were enclosed in a circular plastic guard, and beneath it were a battery, a camera, and a taser gun.

I could feel the implant inside my body, and the neural network connected to it. There was a kind of switch between the two, similar to a circuit breaker. Whether it was made of organic tissue or artificial prosthetics, I couldn’t tell. What was certain was that the breaker was currently off, but I knew how to turn it on.

Like lifting and lowering my arm, it wasn’t easy to explain to others, but I could make it work. At my will, the drawbridge between the implant and the neural network was lowered. As soon as both sides connected, lightning shot through my entire nervous system from the spinal cord.

Whoosh!!!

A strange sound echoed in my ears. In that instant, the world slowed down.

“Mmmmoooowoooorrr.”

A sound of awe, or something close to it, escaped my lips, but it didn’t sound human. I quickly stopped my mouth from twisting into that bizarre shape.

“Uuuuaaahhhh.”

But even stopping my lips wasn’t something I could do immediately. Even though I’d given the command to stop, my mouth only closed after a noticeable delay. What I had meant to say was, “What the hell is this?”

I could see each rotor blade of the Hornet drone moving in front of me. It was like watching the flapping wings of a fly captured by a high-speed camera. I felt like I could reach out and grab one of the blades. But unfortunately, my body couldn’t keep up with my accelerated consciousness.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

My nose itched, and it took forever just to raise my hand to scratch it. Frustrated, I flipped the implant’s switch off.

Whoooom!!!

The strange ringing in my ears faded, and the world returned to its normal speed.

[How is it?]

“Didn’t the scientist in the lab recording said that the maximum acceleration was 2.5 times? This feels way beyond that.”

The accelerated infected we encountered earlier had moved at speeds far beyond 2.5 times, almost impossibly fast.

[That 2.5x figure applies when a regular human gets a crappy surgery from a dumb doctor using low-grade materials.]

Artemis’s assessment was harsh.

[The test subjects we saw in the lab had the limiters that prevent bodily damage removed, and on top of that, they were mutated by the infection. That’s why they could move at such insane speeds.]

I've heard stories of mothers lifting cars to save their children trapped underneath, or men in a hypnotic state bending steel pipes. These are cases where the body's natural limitations were removed, allowing for extraordinary strength. However, not much is said about the consequences, like torn ligaments or damaged muscles and bones.

“When I accelerate, my perception and awareness speed up, but my body can't keep up. I feel a bit faster, but it's nowhere near the 2.5x increase.”

[Your neural network is enhanced, but your muscles, bones, and joints are still the same. If you push yourself in this state, you're guaranteed to get injured. That’s why your body's movements are limited to minimize the effects of acceleration.]

According to the records, the test subjects at the lab only had their nerves modified, without any strengthening of their muscles or skeletons.

“But the scientist clearly said that acceleration up to 2.5x was possible…”

Ah, come to think of it, they probably weren't worried about the test subjects getting hurt in that lab. They were likely just throwing people in for experiments.

“I see. Yeah, if my body moved as fast as my perception now, I'd definitely break something—probably in more than a few places.”

[But even now, it's still highly valuable. In shooting situations alone, it would have tremendous effects. And there's one more thing.]

Click—

Suddenly, the Hornet drone in front of me aimed its taser at me and fired.

In that instant…

Boom!

Acceleration activated automatically, without my conscious effort.

The silver dart flew towards me.

The thin wire connected to it.

The sparking mechanism of the taser.

All of it unfolded before my eyes, frame by frame.

I moved to dodge the dart. Moving my body in an accelerated state felt like trying to move underwater at extreme depths. Every step came with a crushing sense of pressure.

If I moved slowly and didn’t resist the weight, it felt like a normal movement. But if I pushed against the intense pressure, I felt like I was moving ahead of time.

As soon as I completely dodged, the acceleration ended, and the taser dart passed by my temple, missing it by just 5 centimeters.

[I've programmed it so that if a dangerous attack happens suddenly, acceleration will activate automatically. It should help in emergencies.]

“That makes sense!”

In a surprise attack, it would be incredibly useful no matter the situation. After all, on the battlefield, death often occurs in an instant, a split-second accident. Being able to calmly perceive that moment? That’s pretty much the same as learning how to avoid death.

Afterward, I used acceleration several more times as part of a training program designed by Artemis.

Moving my body faster than normal in an accelerated state consumed a lot of energy, so even a short training session left me utterly exhausted. Thanks to that, even though my entire nervous system was still sending out signals and flickering, I was able to fall asleep as if I had passed out.