The preliminary cleanup operation that began two weeks before the Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices were to be installed in Busan seemed to have yielded good results.
By thoroughly inspecting the Safe Zone using F-rank Awakened, they were able to discover a significant number of monsters.
During the two-week search, D-rank monsters appeared twice. One was hunted by Team Crazy, and the other was taken down by Instructor Seo’s team.
Although a few E-rank hunting teams were wiped out during some of the hunts, they succeeded in eliminating all discovered monsters by deploying multiple E-rank or D-rank hunting teams afterward.
The command was satisfied with the positive results, but countless F-rank Awakened and soldiers lost their lives in the process of identifying monsters.
The blocking device was waiting to be installed at the Children’s Grand Park located in the center of Busan.
Busan’s Children’s Grand Park was situated on the mid-slope of Baekyang Mountain, and the command began the cleanup of monsters on the mountain immediately.
Awakened from the Link System took on the monsters in Baekyang Mountain, and then soldiers mobilized by the command cut down all the trees inside and around the park using chainsaws and axes.
That was because securing visibility was the top priority, as the Busan Children’s Grand Park was built in the mountains, surrounding the Seongjigok Reservoir.
The blocking device was installed at the center of the amusement park inside the Grand Park. At the same time, the command surrounded the park with low barricades. With that, the preparations for installing the blocking device were complete.
Yonghoon and Team Crazy arrived early in the morning at Busan Children’s Grand Park.
Yonghoon stood in front of the blocking device and looked around.
The park, which should have been lush with trees, had turned into a barren field. Even the mountain behind had more than half its trees cut down.
He frowned slightly and continued scanning the surroundings.
The amusement park where the blocking device was installed had a large reservoir beside it, and the area was surrounded by mountains.
He turned his gaze straight ahead.
In the distance, he could see the main gate of the Grand Park in front of the reservoir. From there, the cityscape of Busan stretched all the way to the sea.
“Wow! That reservoir is huge. It’s like a lake in the mountains.”
Jimin’s face lit up with delight at the sight of the reservoir.
“Looks like they blocked a valley stream to make the reservoir. It would’ve looked pretty amazing if the trees were still intact.”
Kangwoo nodded as he looked at the reservoir.
As Team Crazy looked around from one side, nearby Awakened began whispering as they noticed them.
But their whispering was a little different from what had been seen during the Seoul operation.
The envy and jealousy they used to show had now turned into admiration and longing.
Young Awakened stared at them with sparkling eyes, and on one side, an Awakened who had taken out a pen to get an autograph was being scolded by others around them.
The reason for the change in their gaze was simple. It was because of Team Crazy’s abilities. Their outstanding performance during the Seoul blocking device operation and their recent feats in Busan had played a decisive role.
Moreover, ordinary Awakened felt more affinity with Team Crazy since, unlike the Link System Awakened, they were also regular Awakened like themselves.
The murmuring around Team Crazy suddenly fell silent.
The sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed from afar.
Dozens of Awakened wearing identical anti-stab clothing were entering from the direction of the main gate. They were Awakened from the Link System.
The Awakened from the Link System entered the amusement park in an orderly fashion and stood to one side, scanning the area. From their indifferent demeanor, one could sense their pride in their team.
Some of them noticed Team Crazy and greeted them with a nod. It seemed that relations between regular Awakened and those from the Link System had become so strained that even acknowledging each other was difficult.
Yonghoon observed both the Link System Awakened scanning the area and the regular Awakened.
There were more high-level Awakened than before. About ten were from the Link System, and one regular Awakened stood out. Since they were with soldiers, they appeared to be government-affiliated.
A few months ago, the government added another training center under its control to compete with the one exclusively run by the Link System Company.
It was a backlash against the Link System Company continuously recruiting Awakened into their corporate ranks. It was also necessary to expand the pool of government-affiliated Awakened.
Having observed the Link System’s training methods for some time, the government believed it had gathered enough information and promptly established its own training center.
However, most new Awakened still preferred to join the training center operated by the Link System Company.
Impressed by the superior abilities of company-affiliated Awakened and the technology of the Link System seen in the media and online, new Awakened naturally gravitated toward their training center.
In the end, the government claimed a lack of capacity and decided training center placements by lottery.
But the government’s efforts didn’t produce much effect.
Unlike the Link System, the government had no way of identifying Awakened with high potential levels.
The Awakened selected randomly didn’t grow significantly faster than others, and some who weren’t chosen ended up contacting the Link System Company and joining them instead.
However, since the Link Company rarely recruited young Awakened, government-affiliated Awakened felt a bit of relief. That’s how they managed to acquire a D-rank Awakened.
The soldiers and Awakened began moving to their assigned positions. Each team leader headed toward where Instructor Seo was.
But Yonghoon was frowning, looking troubled. Sunhee noticed and asked curiously,
“What’s wrong? Are you worried about something?”
Yonghoon shook his head at Sunhee’s question.
“No, it just feels like I’m about to remember something… but I can’t quite recall it.”
Sunhee looked at him with concern, but Yonghoon only frowned further, frustrated by the elusive memory.
After a moment, Yonghoon shook his head. He had something to do now. He couldn’t afford to dwell on a forgotten memory.
Yonghoon also began walking toward Instructor Seo. It was time to hear about the defense plan.
The temporary command center inside Busan City Hall was in chaos, filled with all sorts of noise. Soldiers were rushing around, communicating with various units and inputting troop positions into the front monitors, while others ran around carrying documents.
An officer monitoring the overall military situation reported to the general standing in the back.
“All Awakened units and military forces have been deployed.”
Former Capital Defense Commander and current Special Defense Division Commander, General Yoon, nodded at the situation officer’s report.
Though the troops had been gathered hastily, it seemed they had managed to assemble an elite force and establish a system quickly.
General Yoon steeled himself as he considered his new position, which might be seen as a demotion.
To install the Safe Zone, the government had no choice but to hastily form a new unit. While Seoul had the Capital Defense Command and its forces, other regions lacked such command structures.
Thus, the military leadership appointed General Yoon, who had succeeded in the Seoul operation, as the new commanding officer to lead a newly formed division dedicated to Safe Zone installations and monster suppression.
The military command gave General Yoon full authority over the formation of the unit.
In response, General Yoon transferred all elite troops from the Capital Defense Command into the new division, frustrating the military leadership. On his way to Busan, he also pulled special forces from various divisions.
Thanks to his lightning-fast actions, they managed to complete the division’s formation just in time before the Busan operation began.
Such disregard for standard procedures was only possible because the situation in North Korea was on the verge of collapse due to monsters.
Some in the military even suggested advancing northward, but with the domestic situation already dire, there was no capacity to cross the DMZ.
Moreover, there was no way to break through the monsters entrenched near the DMZ.
General Yoon turned his head and let out a bitter smile.
The Link Company staff member who had stood by his side during the Seoul operation was now stationed far off in a corner. The military leadership had demoted Manager Oh to observer status due to issues raised during the last operation.
It was a clear sign of the growing friction between the government and the Link Company.
When General Yoon turned back to the front, he saw that the control room had gone silent and everyone was looking at him.
General Yoon shouted to the entire control room.
“Commence operation! Activate the Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices!”
The control room sprang back into action like a storm.
Yonghoon flinched. He was startled by the Dimensional Power brushing past his body. The blocking device had been activated.
Yonghoon shouted to his team members.
“Blocking device activated! Stay alert!”
At Yonghoon’s words, the team members gripped their spears and shields tightly.
Once again, Yonghoon and his team were assigned to the primary defense lines. They were to block the monsters in front of the Grand Park’s main gate overlooking the city of Busan.
The defensive lines in Busan were set much closer to the blocking devices than in Seoul. That was because the Grand Park wasn’t as vast as the Yongsan US Military Base.
Instead, the command placed all D-rank Awakened at the front to strengthen the forward defense.
Though placing the defense line close to the blocking devices was risky if breached, it also meant shorter distances to provide support when one side was in danger.
At the main gate, aside from Yonghoon, there was another E-rank Awakened team. Upon arrival, they immediately handed over command to Team Crazy. Team leader Han accepted their reasonable decision, and Yonghoon took command of both them and Team Crazy.
The Awakened stood tense, watching the front for a long time.
But the parking lot in front of the main gate and the shopping complexes behind it remained quiet.
Seeing that, Jimin whispered to the team.
“Maybe we already got them all?”
The team members shook their heads at Jimin’s words.
That was because even in Seoul, monsters had appeared completely unexpectedly.
“Tch, I was just saying it’s possible.”
It was then. Yonghoon received a communication from the control room.
“Monsters approaching from the southeast city area and from behind Baekyang Mountain to the west. Estimated arrival time: 2 minutes!”
Yonghoon looked toward the city.
In the distance, he could see beasts running along the road.
Yonghoon shouted to the nearby Awakened and soldiers.
“Multiple leopard-type monsters ahead! Judging by their size, they appear to be E-rank! Everyone below E-rank fall back!”
At Yonghoon’s command, the soldiers and F-rank Awakened quickly retreated to the rear.
The monsters drew closer. Yonghoon had been right. Enormous, spotted leopards larger than horses were charging forward at incredible speed.
Yonghoon checked his smart watch and shouted to the Awakened.
“Prepare for battle! E-rank Awakened, support the D-rank Awakened!”
As soon as Yonghoon finished speaking, Defense-type Awakened took position on either side of team leader Han, and Strike-type Awakened moved next to Kangwoo and Jimin.
The assassin-type Awakened hesitated, then stood beside Sunhee.
This time, Yonghoon gave instructions to Sunhee.
“Sunhee, raise your Dimensional Power to the max and scan the area!”
Sunhee looked puzzled by Yonghoon’s words, but trusted him and began spreading her Dimensional Power around.
The assassin-type Awakened’s Dimensional Power began scanning the surroundings.
Three panther monsters clashed with the Awakened.
Fortunately, the Defense-type Awakened blocked the panther monsters well. The one stopped by the E-rank Awakened halted in place, and the one blocked by team leader Han was knocked backward.
Then the Strike-type Awakened waiting in the rear charged forward. They rushed ahead and thrust their spears at the panther monsters.
The powerful spear attacks from the Strike-type Awakened left the panther monsters covered in blood. Meanwhile, the ones hit by Jimin and Kangwoo’s attacks burst with blood and were pushed back.
Yonghoon stood at the rear, scanning the surroundings. It was as if he was searching for something invisible.
And then it happened.
“Ah!”
Sunhee suddenly let out a startled voice.
At the same time, she stretched her hand toward the empty air.
Clack!
Suddenly, part of the air appeared frozen. One side of the space, which had looked natural, had stiffened like a scene from a painting.
“Captain!”
Sunhee shouted toward Yonghoon.
But Yonghoon was already running toward the frozen space. Like lightning, he reached the spot and, without slowing down, thrust his spear into the air.
Splat!
Blood sprayed from the air. As it flowed, color began to fill the empty space. Moments later, a panther monster appeared in that spot.
Yonghoon’s spear was deeply embedded in the neck of the revealed panther.
The panther tried to shake its body to pull out the spear, but due to Sunhee’s ability, it couldn’t move at all.
Yonghoon let go of the embedded spear and drew his sword from his waist. He pressed close to the panther’s body and drove the sword deep into its chest. The sword sank in deeply due to the level difference. Eventually, Yonghoon’s sword pierced the panther’s heart.
Yonghoon pulled the sword from the lifeless body of the E+ rank panther monster and nodded at Sunhee.
With a slightly weary expression, Sunhee smiled at Yonghoon.
As expected, the assassin-type’s detection ability was impressive.
Especially assassin-types like Sunhee, who could disrupt a monster’s Dimensional Core from afar, had detection skills sharp enough to find even invisible monsters.
Yonghoon turned his gaze from Sunhee and looked at the group. Everyone was handling the monsters steadily. Nodding, Yonghoon turned his head.
He saw Baekyang Mountain, now barren. On the bare slopes of Baekyang Mountain, monsters were seen running toward the Grand Park.
But since they all appeared to be small animal types, they were likely all F-rank.
Yonghoon waited for the next wave of monsters with a slightly more relaxed mind.
Then the second and third waves of monsters passed through. Thankfully, only occasional E-ranks appeared, and no D-ranks showed up.
Judging by the situation so far, the preemptive sweep operation seemed to have been successful. The battle was now entering its latter stages.
Yonghoon pulled his spear from the body of a stray dog monster. Tilting his head slightly, he turned toward the direction of the sea.
He finally remembered.
It had been after Dimensional Beasts appeared in the other world and the front lines rapidly collapsed. Governments of various countries kept retreating to the edge of the continent.
Eventually, each government considered relocating to nearby islands and installed Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices there.
Most of them were successfully installed safely, but on a few islands, monsters had emerged from the sea, causing major damage.
Because the devices had rarely been installed near the sea, it had been an unexpected oversight that worsened the damage.
However, since it had only happened in one or two distant countries, Yonghoon hadn’t remembered it until now.
Yonghoon shook his head. The battle was already nearing its conclusion. Even though this was a port, the chances of something like that happening here were low.
Moreover, it was highly likely that the Link System had already prepared for such a scenario.
“Or maybe Link Corp doesn’t know?”
That incident had occurred after the Dimensional Connector had been disposed of.
With a slightly worried look, he stared out toward the sea.
Now entering autumn, Gwangalli Beach welcomed only the lonely autumn breeze brushing over the sand.
Because of the monsters that had appeared in spring, swimming had become completely impossible. So this year, the beach remained in its natural state.
With no wind blowing, the sea was calm. But something was starting to emerge above the water.
The object gradually approached the shore and revealed itself on the beach.
A hard shell, massive claws, and sideways movement.
It was a giant crab.
Starting with one or two crabs crawling up the beach, their numbers grew until they began to overrun it.
And once enough had gathered, the crabs began moving inland.
Their target was the Dimensional Movement Blocking Device that had enraged them while they were hiding underwater. The massive swarm of giant crabs began charging toward the Grand Park.