The turtle monster’s Dimensional Core, about the size of a ping-pong ball, was cut into eight pieces by Yonghoon, with six pieces embedded into the team members’ breastplates and team leader Han’s shield, while Yonghoon decided to store the remaining two pieces.
The team members broke out in cold sweat watching Yonghoon slice the Dimensional Core with his sword. It was a core worth billions, being cut apart. Jimin, in particular, let out groans, unable to hide her regret.
The breastplates were designed to look just like bulletproof vests, so they didn’t seem unusual at all. After trying them on and finding no issues with movement, the team members were all satisfied.
Team leader Han also smiled in satisfaction at the newly prepared shield. Though it was heavier than before, its powerful defense made the extra weight negligible.
Moreover, Shilla Heavy Industries, hearing that Yonghoon’s spear had been damaged, made a new spear identical to the previous one as a service gesture. Though it cost the company a considerable amount, it was well worth it considering the profits they would gain from the turtle monster’s corpse.
Yonghoon, who had planned to continue using his old spear, was a bit surprised by this unexpected service.
After checking their respective gear, the team members boarded the newly purchased vehicle.
The previous minibus was fine for moving around within the Safe Zone, but it posed safety risks when traveling outside the Safe Zone or through rough terrain.
Until now, they had sometimes used Yonghoon’s car for such areas, but with the increase in new equipment, it was no longer feasible.
Team leader Han had acquired a Humvee circulating in the market and requested a full modification from a vehicle customization company.
The Humvee was a leftover from when the US Forces in Korea returned home-fuel-inefficient but unmatched in off-road and protection performance among existing vehicles.
However, true to its military origin, the interior was cramped and the ride comfort was terrible, so team leader Han had requested a full interior overhaul.
Yonghoon sat in the middle of the vehicle, gazing out the window. The view through the window was narrow; being a military vehicle, the windows were smaller than those of regular cars, and the back seats had no windows at all.
The streets were filled with the lively energy of spring. The people moving about looked much more cheerful than before. Though they were still within the Safe Zone, people themselves had become accustomed to monsters.
Occasionally, Awakened wearing Anti-stab Clothing could be seen on the streets, and military vehicles like Yonghoon’s car passed by on the roads. They were vehicles traveling in and out of the Safe Zone.
People accepted all these phenomena with indifference. Over time, fear and death lost their sting. Even among them, some must have lost family or friends, but they accepted it all as natural.
Meanwhile, the continuous expansion of Safe Zones and the industrial growth driven by monster hunting led people to think positively, and the energy generators developed by the Link System instantly solved the global energy crisis, instilling hope.
The global oil market had already completely collapsed.
The Middle East and developing countries could no longer produce oil due to monsters, and even superpowers like the United States and Russia struggled to meet domestic demand.
As a result, energy-consuming countries like Korea were surviving on stockpiled reserves. Once the reserves ran out, it would be like returning to the Middle Ages.
In the midst of this, the emergence of energy generators was a ray of light.
Already, most thermal power plants had been converted to Dimensional Core energy generators, and the replacement of internal combustion engines was proceeding steadily.
Although the price of energy generators was still too high, they had started by replacing large engines like those in ships. With oil prices now more than five times higher than before the monsters appeared, there was no alternative.
Scholars predicted that within ten years, all internal combustion engines would be replaced by Dimensional Core energy generators.
Yonghoon recalled the scholars’ predictions and gave a bitter smile.
It was clear that a complete replacement of internal combustion engines would never happen. Either the monsters would be wiped out or humanity would be pushed back before then.
Yonghoon turned his gaze to look around inside the vehicle.
All the team members were spending time in their own seats. The vehicle was quite comfortable, thanks to the successful modifications. Though it didn’t match a luxury sedan, it offered ride comfort comparable to civilian cars for a military vehicle.
Team leader Han was still driving. The team members had insisted on hiring a driver, but it seemed he hadn’t found anyone he liked yet.
Moreover, team leader Han seemed quite satisfied with driving himself. Perhaps he had a bit of a car enthusiast streak-he couldn’t stop smiling whenever he drove a new car.
In the seat next to team leader Han, Kangwoo was reviewing documents. The documents were sales reports sent by Shilla Heavy Industries, and Kangwoo grumbled as he reviewed the paperwork he had been saddled with.
But in this team, Kangwoo was the only one capable of handling such tasks. The other team members were out of the question, and even team leader Han, who had corporate experience, was from a completely different field.
After grumbling for a while, Kangwoo reluctantly continued reviewing the documents. His professional demeanor while working made the other team members even more curious about his previous job.
Behind the grumbling Kangwoo sat Dohyeon.
As usual, Dohyeon had earphones in and was listening to music. His signature floating phone hovered in front of him again today.
With time, Dohyeon’s once immature demeanor had faded significantly. However, his personality hadn’t changed much, so he still got scolded by the team members often.
Lastly, the two women were sitting in the back seat, chatting quietly.
“Are the kids doing well?”
“Yeah, it was tough at first, but they seem okay now. The other kids are taking good care of them.”
Their soft conversation seemed to be about the girls they had rescued during the battle in Asan City.
The parents of the rescued children were eventually confirmed dead, and with nowhere to go, the children were taken to Jimin’s orphanage.
Yonghoon closed his eyes and listened to their conversation.
“Still, that’s fortunate. I heard orphanages are overwhelmed these days with the number of new orphans. Many kids are ending up on the streets.”
“Yeah, our orphanage’s population has doubled compared to a year ago. Fortunately, with help from neighbors and team members, we’re managing okay.”
Jimin glanced at Yonghoon, who was sitting in front with his eyes closed.
“Someone made a huge donation. The orphanage was in an uproar for a while. Thanks to that, we were able to help other orphanages too.”
Sunhee smiled warmly as she saw the direction Jimin was looking.
“I guess they couldn’t find out who it was.”
“Well, I have my suspicions.”
At the end of Jimin’s story, Yonghoon withdrew his attention from their conversation. It seemed he had been found out.
Anyway, the money he currently had wasn’t of much use to him. Sending some to the orphanage was far better than letting it sit in the bank and eventually become worthless.
With the new year, the Korean government had established three major plans to deal with the monsters.
One was to expand the Safe Zones as much as possible by installing new ones every two months. This was progressing smoothly with the installations in Asan and Cheonan.
The second was the continued protection of national infrastructure and large industrial facilities, as well as reclaiming the Dead Zones. Although civilian casualties were severe, the government couldn’t reach those areas yet.
The last was the management of the Singularities discovered this spring. The government couldn’t ignore this newfound resource.
With the value of monster corpses and Dimensional Cores skyrocketing, having a place where one could hunt infinitely and safely was incomparable to a gold mine.
The government began searching for Singularities with fervor. They could easily justify their actions under the pretext of managing Singularities to prevent accidents.
While managing discovered Singularities, the government sold entrance tickets, allowing Awakened to hunt there. They planned to regulate the number of entrants to balance hunting activities in other regions.
However, this plan ignored the survival instincts of people.
More and more Awakened chose to focus solely on hunting in Singularities, even if it meant earning slightly less, rather than hunting elsewhere. Even considering waiting times, the profit difference wasn’t significant, and the safety was incomparable.
As a result, Singularities became a headache for the government, and areas outside the Safe Zones were increasingly overrun by monsters.
“No matter how you look at it, this is too much.”
Sunhee frowned as she looked at her smart watch.
They were in an industrial complex in southern Gyeonggi Province. Team Crazy had come here to reclaim the area from monsters.
Yonghoon also checked his smart watch. Dots sparkled all around. The density was nearly at Dead Zone levels.
However, this wasn’t a Dead Zone created because monsters were unmanageable. It was simply due to a shortage of Awakened, allowing monsters to proliferate.
“It’s not far from downtown. This is bad. If things keep going like this, it’ll be hard for people to live outside the Safe Zones.”
Sunhee’s expression darkened. Yonghoon agreed with her. The world was changing too fast-several times faster than the other world. Yonghoon feared this might even hasten the appearance of Dimensional Beasts.
In any case, now was the time to focus on hunting. Yonghoon saw dots converging on the smart watch screen.
He raised his head and shouted to the team members.
“Prepare for battle!”
The team members quickly took their positions.
They were in a large clearing on one side of the industrial complex. It seemed to have been prepared for a factory, but it was perfect for hunting monsters.
The team members positioned themselves in the center of the clearing, looking toward the alleys between the distant factories. There, Jimin was running toward them, chased by a massive swarm of cockroaches. The cockroaches were nearly half the size of a person.
“Eek! I hate cockroaches!”
Having successfully lured the monsters, Jimin was running with tears streaming down her face. Perhaps it was the sheer number of cockroaches or a natural aversion to them.
Fortunately, Jimin’s breastplate performed well, and though the surface was scratched, she remained unharmed.
“There are more than expected. Be careful behind you. If we’re not careful, we could get surrounded.”
Team leader Han stepped forward and warned. Even if he blocked them, with that many monsters, there was a risk of being bypassed and surrounded.
“Well, the captain can just block them with his ability. Or Sunhee noona can use hers. Man, our team is amazing.”
Dohyeon nodded as he spoke.
As Dohyeon said, thanks to Sunhee and Yonghoon’s abilities, Team Crazy had strong defenses against low-level monster group attacks. However, Yonghoon didn’t intend to use Sunhee’s or his own abilities for this hunt.
Yonghoon signaled Sunhee to refrain from using her ability. Though she tilted her head in confusion, she trusted him and released her gathered Dimensional Power.
Not knowing the situation behind him, team leader Han, reassured by Dohyeon’s words, raised his shield.
Jimin, crying, ran past team leader Han. Being chased by giant cockroaches would likely leave her traumatized.
Team leader Han focused his Dimensional Power into his shield. It was time to test the new shield’s capabilities.
The Dimensional Power passed through team leader Han’s arm, entered the turtle monster’s Dimensional Core embedded at the center of the shield, and spread throughout.
Some of the Dimensional Power also flowed into the stone fragment Yonghoon had set above the core. The power was altered by the stone and infused into the shield.
The shield began to emit a strange light, a mixture of red and yellow.
“Huh?”
Surprised by the color of his shield, team leader Han looked forward and was shocked again.
The cockroach monsters that had been charging toward Team Crazy were now all swarming toward him.
“What the heck is this!”
Team leader Han shouted in shock, and Yonghoon called out to the team.
“The hunt begins. The monsters will swarm team leader Han. Stay calm and take down the ones on the outskirts first.”
Yonghoon let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Fortunately, the gallstone harvested from the turtle monster worked perfectly.
That stone fragment was the organ responsible for the turtle monster’s ability to mesmerize people.
Although he had heard about it in the other world, Yonghoon had never actually seen it used, so he couldn’t explain this item to the team members in advance.
He had also made an excuse that he heard about how to use the monster’s Dimensional Core from Instructor Seo, but he refrained from making excuses about the stone fragment, fearing it would be troublesome if it didn’t work.
Fortunately, the ability worked well. The ability manifested by the Contaminated Dimensional Core was drawing in the monsters instead of people.
The team members began the hunt with bewildered expressions, and that day, team leader Han was able to personally experience the performance of the shield and cuirass.