The All-Master of Cyberpunk-Chapter 14

“Guaaah!”

“Don't just stand there! Get up!”

“Y-yes…”

Hyung-rok scrambled backward, almost crawling.

With no obstacles in my way, it was time to go all out. I faced the Dead Runner, whose face was now half-collapsed and trembling.

Its skin was chillingly pale, and blue veins, like streams, ran across its skin, emphasizing its inhuman nature.

“Raaaargh!”

“Stop wasting your breath.”

With an ear-splitting roar, I winced and raised the Impact Gauntlet.

The Impact Gauntlet wasn't just a supplementary piece of equipment like brass knuckles. If it were, it wouldn't be considered military-grade, nor would I have brought it.

A gauntlet is a rather ambiguous weapon.

In close combat, it’s outclassed by polearms, and it's not even a consideration for ranged combat.

And for mere hand-to-hand combat, a 'tech body,' the alpha and omega of Seoul 2056, would be more cost-effective.

But the Impact Gauntlet is considered a rare item and quite a decent weapon in the game due to its special ability.

Whirrr!

Once again, the reddish light flared. As I pulled the gauntlet towards me, the hefty Dead Runner was drawn forward, following my gesture.

It looked bewildered, unable to grasp what was happening.

Biomagnetic Force.

The unique feature of the Impact Gauntlet allowed it to temporarily magnetize an opponent after a successful hit, enabling me to pull or push them at will.

Unless the opponent had a tech body with resistance to biomagnetism, they were helpless once hit.

This feature made the Impact Gauntlet as versatile as any other melee weapon.

“Grrk?!”

“You should’ve come quietly.”

I swung at the creature struggling against the magnetic pull. Instead of a light hit, I delivered a full-powered punch with a shockwave.

The blow struck its abdomen, causing the flesh to distort and momentarily explode.

Shockwave.

The same shockwave that shattered the gargoyle’s tough carapace was beyond the defense or regenerative abilities of a lower-tier mutant.

Boom!

Chunks of flesh dropped from its perforated body. Beyond the fallen carcass, other mutants were growling.

They were all lower-tier mutants. After defeating a gargoyle and a Hellcat, these were mere cannon fodder.

And the Impact Gauntlet had a satisfying feel to it.

“Come at me, you bastards.”

I taunted the growling Dead Runners.

Unlike my initial irritation at the unexpected guests, I wasn’t feeling too bad now.

It was just another routine reconnaissance and supply mission. Yoo Hyun-ah yawned nonchalantly after checking her gun.

Their task was to secure food left in the department store past Yulha Station.

The location was close to their base at Daegu International Airport, and the mutants in the area weren’t particularly strong.

“All set, everyone?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t mess around like last time, Yoo Hyun-ah.”

“Shut up.”

The five-member reconnaissance team, including Yoo Hyun-ah, had been working together for a long time. They had been out on similar missions more than thirty times.

So none of them were particularly tense. It was a necessary task, and they were confident they’d return safely as always.

“Is there really still food in the department store? The convenience store on the first floor was cleared out ages ago.”

“Ji-hoon saw some preserved food with his drone in the theater on the seventh floor.”

“Oh, the theater! Maybe there’s chocolate or popcorn machines too? Let’s bring some back if we can!”

“Deal.”

In the chaotic Yellow Zone, the biggest concern for the people of the Liberation Village was food.

Even the relatively well-organized Liberation Village 'Sky Road' had established formal trade routes with Daegu Green Zone, but chronic food shortages were inevitable.

Purifying the contaminated soil around the airport wasn’t enough. Farming in the chaotic post-apocalyptic climate was far from easy.

Finding a few boxes of expired instant noodles during reconnaissance was a huge gain.

Moreover, they could preemptively clear out any mutants in the area during their patrol.

Reconnaissance missions were crucial for community survival.

But external situations rarely went as planned.

“Captain! It’s a Microstorm!”

“Get to the upper floors quickly!”

Their light armor, lacking protective gear, couldn’t withstand the storm.

Luckily, they had taken shelter inside the theater they were scouting, avoiding the storm’s effects.

But as soon as the storm subsided, lower-tier mutants began to fill the nearby roads.

That’s when the nightmare began.

“Why, why are there so many!”

“We’ll get hit first! Evacuate! Start the vehicle!”

“The engine won’t start!”

“Abandon the vehicle! Move quickly!”

What they initially thought were just a few lower-tier mutants swarmed from all directions.

The first to go was the driver. As he got out of the vehicle, he was snatched by a lower-tier flying mutant and fell to his death.

Next was the grenadier. He tried to conserve ammo until the mutants clustered together, only to have his throat ripped out by a sudden Dead Runner from an alley.

“Raaaargh! You bastards-!!”

He unleashed all his grenades in a final act of defiance, taking out many mutants, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.

Amid the relentless mutant attacks, Yoo Hyun-ah’s friend also perished.

The five-person team dwindled to two in an instant.

Despite their experience, they had underestimated the Yellow Zone, paying dearly for their complacency.

“Raaaargh!”

“Oppa!”

Barely escaping to the villa complex, even their leader, Hyung-rok, was caught. Yoo Hyun-ah realized she was likely to die here too.

It wasn’t hard to discern. Counting those still alive beside her was quicker than counting the dead.

As numb as she was to death, she was acutely aware of it approaching.

Hyun-ah’s legs stiffened. Reflexively, she pulled the trigger repeatedly, but the empty chamber yielded no bullets.

Despair. Fear. Sorrow. Regret. Relief. Liberation.

Swallowed by a whirlwind of emotions, she nearly gave up on life.

Bang!

A single gunshot pulled her from the abyss.

A man emerged slowly from the villa's front door, looking as if he was simply curious about the commotion outside his house.

“A person?! How are you here!”

“It’s dangerous, step aside.”

The mysterious man swung his steel fist, enveloped in a strange glow, at the Dead Runner.

Without hesitation, he sent the massive Dead Runner flying, then yelled at Hyung-rok.

“Stop staring and get up!”

As soon as the Dead Runner was off him, Hyung-rok scrambled to his feet and backed away.

What happened next was unbelievable to Hyun-ah, even as she watched it unfold.

Boom!

The power-type Dead Runner was instantly reduced to a chunk of meat.

Even though it was a lower-tier humanoid mutant, the power-type variants were sometimes considered mid-tier due to their strength.

Normally, it required a concentrated barrage from an assault rifle to take one down. But this mysterious man dispatched it effortlessly.

And that wasn’t the most shocking part.

Bang! Boom!

Whirr!

The man easily dealt with the other mutants that swarmed after the power-type.

No signs of struggle or fear. He looked like he was swatting annoying flies.

Crushing the Dead Runner's head with his gauntlet and dodging the attack from a lower-tier flying mutant before shooting it down with his pistol.

It was an almost surreal display. Something an ordinary person like her could never achieve!

Hyung-rok, equally stunned, muttered as he watched.

“That guy... is an Awakened.”

“A Hunter, right?”

“Yeah, at least B-grade.”

“I’ve never seen his face on the list.”

As a designated marksman from Liberation Village, she also served guard duty in the airport control tower.

Thus, she had memorized the names of B-grade Hunters or higher, as they posed threats to the community.

But this man was a new face.

Boom! Before Hyun-ah could resolve her curiosity, the man had already dealt with all the lower-tier mutants.

Brushing off the unpleasant chunks of flesh from his clothes, he turned to the two and spoke.

“You’re both from Liberation Village, right? No time to waste. Lead me there now.”

Bang, bang!

Rat-tat-tat! Vroom, vroom!

“It’s working! The engine’s running!”

“Let’s get out of here.”

I had used up all the bullets in my pistol.

Reaching the abandoned vehicle the two had left behind had drawn considerable attention, and we needed to leave the area before more trouble arrived.

The abundance of Dead Runners in the vicinity was likely due to one of Seoul 2056’s random encounters and a side event of the Microstorm called 'Zombie Land.'

It was a natural disaster, pure and simple.

So there was nothing to blame. For those who lost their comrades, it was merely bad luck.

A world where bad luck meant losing your life.

That was life in the Yellow Zone and the basic premise of the cyberpunk apocalypse known as Seoul 2056.

The silver lining was that these two weren’t just any random people.

By sheer coincidence, I had encountered two characters with significant roles in the game.

Tracker Park Hyung-rok and Little Reaper Yoo Hyun-ah.

They were prominent figures who led the survivors of Sky Road during the collapse of Daegu Green Zone and participated in the defense of Daegu with the remaining survivors.

Like Lee Ha-an, they played major roles in the initial stages set in Daegu of Seoul 2056.

They lived up to their reputations. Once they got out of immediate danger, they efficiently charted a course.

From escaping the villa complex, securing a vehicle, and fleeing Yulha-dong filled with their comrades' deaths, it took just 20 minutes.

Even for two people familiar with the area, the difference was noticeable. They navigated the terrain like true locals, impressing me with their straightforwardness.

After racing through the night, the truck finally arrived at its destination.

[Entry Forbidden // Restricted Area]

[This is a military facility.]

"Stop, stop, stop! Move and we’ll shoot!"

Ahead lay the largest Liberation Village in eastern Daegu and the de facto frontline of the Yellow Zone.

Daegu International Airport, the front lines of Sky Road, came into view.