Yonghoon stood under the shade of the rooftop of an old four-story building, looking at the truck. The truck hadn’t moved for quite some time. It seemed there were a lot of things weighing on her mind.
Yonghoon looked around New Warsaw. A ten-meter-high wall surrounded the city.
The wall was properly built. It wasn’t a patchwork wall made from random materials like he had seen in his world, but a real reinforced concrete wall.
However, even this wall looked quite aged and worn.
All around the top of the wall, turrets could be seen. There were anti-aircraft guns and ground attack cannons as well. Some seemed to be shared-use, but in any case, there were a considerable number of guns visible.
However, there weren’t many sentries visible atop the wall. It seemed possible to slip through the gaps.
After a while, the truck started moving. Rattling as it moved, the truck approached a giant iron gate. The massive iron gate, appearing to be over five meters wide and ten meters tall, looked incredibly sturdy even from a distance.
Two guards wearing leather armor stood in front of the iron gate, holding guns. As the truck stopped, one approached the driver’s seat while the other searched the truck’s interior.
After a brief inspection, they stepped back, and the iron gate began to open.
Yonghoon carefully observed their expressions. They didn’t seem particularly tense. It seemed Elena hadn’t said anything about him.
As the truck passed through the iron gate, Yonghoon stepped out from the rooftop’s shade.
His outfit had changed from before. He had taken off the armor he had been wearing and put on a leather armor from the truck. Though it looked quite worn, its plain design made it inconspicuous.
“Shall I go too?”
Yonghoon opened a dimensional tunnel and leaped inside.
He popped out next to an anti-aircraft gun installed at the corner of the wall. Hiding in the shadow of the gun, Yonghoon looked around. As expected, the security was lax.
It seemed that due to the Dead Zone, the number of monsters had decreased, making strict vigilance unnecessary.
Inside the wall, rows of brick buildings about five stories tall stretched out. They weren’t much different from the ruins outside the fortress. However, these buildings didn’t look as worn out. Probably because people were living in them.
This fortress city looked quite stagnant. There weren’t many people walking the streets, and many buildings appeared empty.
The truck that had passed through the iron gate was crossing the central boulevard, heading toward the center of the fortress city.
Yonghoon moved across the rooftops using spatial movement, following the truck. The truck made its way to the plaza at the center of the city.
After a while, the truck stopped in front of a building on one side of the plaza. There were several trucks lined up that looked similar to the one Elena had ridden.
Yonghoon stood on the opposite rooftop, watching the situation after Elena entered the building. If she spoke about him, a commotion would surely arise.
Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t mentioned him. Until she came back out, the surroundings remained quiet.
However, something seemed off.
After quite some time, Elena came out of the building, looking around nervously. She seemed to be searching for something.
Yonghoon found her behavior puzzling.
After glancing around for a while, she sighed and climbed back into the truck.
Yonghoon’s face twisted into a frown.
She had definitely said earlier that she would return the truck. But now the situation was different.
The truck carrying Elena began to leave the plaza.
After a brief hesitation, Yonghoon decided to follow the truck.
The truck exited the plaza and headed north, soon entering a massive factory-like building. Yonghoon frowned as he looked at the factory building from the rooftop of a building on the opposite side.
The factory building in front of him was different from the others. Its sheer size, taking up almost an entire block, and its security level were both on another level. Barbed wire surrounded it, and patrols could be seen.
It was clearly the most important place in this fortress city.
There were even anti-aircraft gun emplacements on the factory’s rooftop. It didn’t look easy to sneak in.
Fortunately, there were windows with barbed wire on the building. Targeting one of the high windows, he opened a dimensional tunnel.
Upon entering the building, Yonghoon crouched low.
The factory building had a warehouse-like structure with a vast open space and no pillars inside. Luckily, the spot where Yonghoon landed was a second-floor balcony built along the wall. Fortunately, there was no one on this side of the balcony.
Yonghoon looked down.
The first floor was quite complex.
On one side, several trucks, including the one Elena had ridden, were lined up with monsters loaded in the back, waiting. The trucks were moving forward little by little.
The frontmost truck climbed onto a large circular structure in the center.
The flat, circular metal structure, about five meters in diameter and fifty centimeters high, looked like a massively enlarged coin.
The structure resembled some kind of machine. Many coils were attached to its sides, and strange patterns were engraved on the floor.
Surrounding the structure, eight iron boxes rose to waist height, with eight people standing in front of them. The iron boxes looked like control devices, connected to the circular structure by thick pipes.
The truck climbed up a slanted ramp and stood at the center of the structure. Once the truck stopped, the eight people around it placed their hands on the control devices in front of them.
Shortly after, Yonghoon could feel Dimensional Power surging from their bodies.
They poured their Dimensional Power into the devices in front of them, and soon Dimensional Power began to gush out from the circular structure.
Yonghoon’s eyes widened. It was Dimensional Power he knew all too well.
The floor beneath the truck began to change. It started to ripple and shimmer, and then a different place seemed to reflect on it. Soon, the truck sank into the floor.
It was a dimensional tunnel. The truck had spatially moved through the dimensional tunnel.
Only then did Yonghoon understand. Even if fortress cities were built, it was clear they couldn’t survive on their own. They definitely needed connections with other cities.
While this place was close to the Dead Zone and thus relatively safe, the inland areas were said to be too dangerous for travel due to monsters and Deathmen.
In the end, it seemed they were using this dimensional tunnel to move between cities.
Yonghoon was extremely surprised.
They had succeeded in creating a machine that could harness Dimensional Power to produce abilities. No matter how he looked at it, the Awakened standing around the structure weren’t spatial ability users.
This machine was clearly designed to receive Dimensional Power from various Awakened and convert it into spatial ability to create a dimensional tunnel.
Moreover, the fact that they could combine the Dimensional Power of multiple people was truly astonishing.
Entering the Warp Zone, Elena couldn’t help but sigh at her situation.
After everything that had happened since last night, Elena felt like giving up and just hiding away.
After the Awakened who had crushed her hopes left, Elena finally managed to regain some composure.
Fortunately, there had been no major issues when she entered the city and reported the incident to the Hunting Association.
She had considered mentioning Yonghoon, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t think of anyone in the city who could stop him. Even if they had strong defensive abilities, with cannons and numerous Awakened, the opponent was a spatial movement user.
If he decided to flee, no one would be able to stop him, and if he decided to kill her, she would die instantly.
Besides, he didn’t seem like a bad person. His attitude toward her had been quite gentle.
In the end, she gave up on mentioning him and had no choice but to fabricate a story. She testified that during a battle between Raiders and a hunting party, everyone else died, leaving only her.
Fortunately, people believed her story. Battles between Raiders and hunting parties were common and had gotten worse recently. Though surviving alone was quite a feat, it wasn’t unheard of.
The Association members merely frowned at the recent heavy losses.
It seemed the matter was about to be settled.
However, the office manager seemed to have other thoughts.
After hearing her story, the office manager of the Association spoke up.
“Looking at your face, it seems you’ve been through a lot. Since the Association has suffered heavy losses, it’s hard to give you a separate reward, but as a bonus, I’ll give you a job. Transport the stray dogs you brought to New Berlin. We’ll double your pay. It should make up for some of your hardship.”
Elena’s expression changed upon hearing the office manager’s words. This was an opportunity. Normally, it would be a job she would eagerly accept.
Traveling between cities was extremely expensive. Moreover, getting permission to move inland was very difficult. For her, it was a job she had to accept.
And if she was lucky, she might be able to escape from that terrifying Awakened. Even if he said he was watching her, if she fled hundreds of kilometers away, he definitely wouldn’t be able to catch her.
However, deep down, she felt conflicted.
‘Why?’
Elena found her inner conflict strange but quickly brushed it aside.
Refusing the job given by the office manager would be difficult anyway. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, she accepted the related documents and money from the office manager and headed toward the truck.
Before getting into the truck, Elena looked around, just in case the Awakened was nearby.
‘It’s not my fault. He can search for me all he wants later. Hmph!’
Pouting her lips, she climbed into the truck and headed toward the building with the Warp Zone.
The truck in front of her disappeared through spatial movement. Next was her truck’s turn.
Standing before the Warp Zone, Elena let out a sigh.
Her heart had been pounding until now. Elena didn’t know whether she was feeling guilty or scared.
Either way, it would be goodbye soon. After crossing over to New Berlin, she planned to find a job there. She could return after finishing the job, but she didn’t feel the need to.
Anyway, she was practically a drifter. Since things had gotten complicated here, it might be best to move somewhere else while she had the chance.
“I wonder where that guy is right now?”
“Are you talking about me?”
Yonghoon’s voice came from beside Elena.
Elena froze as soon as she heard Yonghoon’s voice.
After a moment, she let out a sigh.
It seemed she couldn’t escape from this Awakened after all. With a resigned expression, Elena explained the situation.
“I was assigned to transport the stray dogs. The office manager ordered it, so I had no choice.”
Elena’s excuse didn’t seem to matter much to Yonghoon.
“Where does this dimensional tunnel lead?”
Elena let out a sigh of relief when Yonghoon didn’t say much.
“We’re warping to New Berlin.”
“What’s there?”
“There’s a large Warp Zone that connects to another world. All the beasts from the eastern region gather there.”
Yonghoon nodded. Getting on the truck had been the right choice.
From outside, a signal was given for the truck to depart. The technician who had been guiding the truck tilted his head when he saw Yonghoon sitting in the passenger seat, but soon shrugged it off. He must have thought he was mistaken, since he hadn’t seen him earlier.
The truck rose onto the Warp Zone and disappeared in a flash of light.