I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 274 : Humanity's Fortress (3)

Fortress, bunker, shelter.

Though the terminology and forms differ, their purpose is ultimately the same.

In that they are defensive facilities created to protect humans from external threats.

'But what should this be called?'

A massive fortress city?

The final ark?

Shouldn't it be given some grand name like that?

"Haha. You seem quite surprised."

"...Yes, inevitably."

Chairman Hwang Yong-jae laughed heartily at Yu-jin's response.

"It's worth spending money when you're this surprised!"

"No... really."

I was also dumbfounded.

"Just how much money did you spend?"

"Well, it's tacky to be specific. Just know that I put all the group's resources into it."

"It's not my place to interfere, but... I imagine there must have been considerable opposition."

"I cut out those who had neither the thought nor ability to adapt to the coming changes. It was time to slim down the organization anyway. Isn't that right, Director Kim?"

"Yes, just as you said, Chairman."

Director Kim also chuckled.

"We gave them generous severance packages, so they can't complain. Though they'll soon realize that money will be meaningless anyway."

"Exactly that."

Given that it was now established fact that an apocalyptic situation would occur and the world would undergo another radical change.

Putting all resources into building a shelter wasn't a gamble for them, but rather standard procedure.

"Let me show you closer. Let's lower the altitude."

Tuduududu!

The helicopter descended with a loud roar.

'This is really incredible though.'

To build such an amazing fortress in just 4 months?

This was an achievement only possible with the help of Awakened ones, something impossible even in the pre-Gate era.

"No matter how much I asked, you wouldn't tell me about the process, so you must have wanted to surprise us like this."

"I do like surprises."

Ji-su grumbled at Hwang Yong-jae's words.

"You didn't even tell me."

"My daughter is precisely the one I wanted to surprise the most as a father."

"Oh come on."

Ji-su folded her arms as if in disbelief.

'But she's much more comfortable now.'

It didn't feel like Ji-su disliked him unconditionally as before.

"But how did you build it so quickly?"

Yu-jin asked.

"Well, money of course. I brought in top construction Awakened ones with premium pay."

"So money really can do anything."

"Absolutely. It seems Yu-jin-yang has finally understood the way of the world."

Hwang Yong-jae chuckled.

"But it's not just money. I also added the right to move into the fortress in the future. Then things went very smoothly."

"Indeed."

A clever method.

"Even if the fortress is destroyed later, we need people who can repair it. That's what they call killing two birds with one stone."

Hwang Yong-jae pointed to the fortress through the window, saying he would explain a bit.

"First, we surrounded it with a very large and thick outer wall. We crudely slathered reinforced concrete to make it withstand cannons, missiles, even nuclear bombs."

"Nuclear bombs?"

Yu-jin was amazed.

"Actually, even nuclear bombs, at the level of small tactical nukes, can't properly destroy modern buildings."

Nuclear bombs.

Even in this Gate era, after numerous explosion accidents and reduction attempts, nuclear bombs remained in each country as a minimum deterrent.

'Korea secretly made them dozens of years ago too.'

"Do you know the Hoover Dam?"

"Of course."

"It's a dam that could last about 100,000 years even if humanity disappeared."

"That's right. That's exactly the kind of dam we aimed for."

"Indeed."

"Concrete, especially reinforced concrete, is a more amazing material than you think. Especially when plastered like this."

Hwang Yong-jae said proudly.

"Besides that, we've equipped it with various automatic gun emplacements and internal facilities where area-type Awakened ones can work in shifts. There are facilities to intercept aerial enemies, and even Mana Barriers."

That was just about one outer wall.

Inside, there were layers upon layers of barriers and defensive facilities, not to mention a massive city built within.

'This looks like something I've seen in manga. Attack... something?'

But given the times we live in.

It was on a scale that far transcended that level.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know the details, but I can imagine the defense is incredible."

As Yu-jin said.

Inside the city, low-altitude buildings with perfect defensive facilities were placed at appropriate distances from each other.

"That's not all."

"What more could there be?"

Ji-su asked incredulously.

"Of course! The real masterpiece is right under this fortress city."

"Underground?"

"Think about it. For people to live in a city of this size, wouldn't enormous stockpiles be needed? Food, water, steel, rubber, daily necessities, and countless other supplies."

"That's right."

"Moreover, if humanity's systems are truly destroyed, you'd need to be self-sufficient. Water, food, and other essential minerals."

Hwang Yong-jae's eyes sparkled with conviction.

"Underground space is essential to produce all those things. No, at that level, it should be called an underground city. Even if the surface falls, survival is still possible by retreating to the underground city."

"...Good lord."

Even Ji-su looked quite surprised.

"I can't show you the underground from here, so look at this instead. Director Kim?"

"Yes."

Director Kim pulled out a large map.

"Complicated, isn't it?

There's a reliable water source underground. Smart farms are equipped. The topographical conditions are perfect in many ways.

There's an escape route to the sea for emergencies.

In case of external invasion, intruders are repelled with all kinds of poison gas, explosions, and barrier walls.

"Furthermore, even if they break through those barriers, we've created a massive maze structure so they can't easily find people. The center can trap or make intruders wander indefinitely."

"Is that possible?"

"Of course! All of this is controlled from the central control room, and with the help of artificial intelligence, it operates 24 hours a day without rest."

"...Wow."

Even I, who had been listening quietly, couldn't hide my admiration at this point.

'It's like the genre suddenly changed to sci-fi.'

The result of Hwang Yong-jae's wealth and connections, combined with cooperation at the Execution Force level and support from other companies and government agencies.

"Huhu, you seem very surprised."

"Of course."

'There's a reason Hwang Won-jae goes this far.'

Preparation for the end? Atonement for family sins? Human survival? All of that must be part of it, but the important thing is something else.

'He smelled money.'

This wasn't necessarily limited to currency or capital.

'If the future approaches the apocalypse, the owner of such a shelter would have greater power.'

And at this level, it would be no exaggeration to call it the best existing shelter.

Moreover, the concentrated military power of the Execution Force and hunters, as well as numerous influential figures and technicians.

Providing a safe and abundant cradle for all of them?

That in itself was power and an asset.

'Beyond survival, he intends to exert strong influence on the post-war order after eventual victory.'

As expected of Hwang Yong-jae.

Even a rotting croaker is still a croaker, he was truly extraordinary.

"I can roughly tell what Su-hyeon is thinking."

Having read something in my expression, Hwang Yong-jae smiled triumphantly.

"And Su-hyeon, take this."

He took a card key from his pocket and handed it to me.

"Hmm? What is this?"

"It would be a big problem if you lost it. It's a very precious item."

"What do you mean by precious?"

"It's a master card that allows you to enter anywhere in this fortress and has the authority to access the server in case of emergency."

"...?"

"...!"

"...Hmm."

I, Ji-su, and Yu-jin looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"But why give something like this to me?"

"This fortress is essentially yours too, Su-hyeon."

"What? Mine?"

Why on earth?

Hwang Yong-jae laughed heartily, as if my puzzled face was amusing.

"You're my future son-in-law, so I should give you at least this much as a gift. What, your future father-in-law has money to spare, so don't hesitate."

"...!"

"What are you saying?!"

Ji-su shouted loudly.

"Hahaha. This daddy knows everything. When dealing with the grandson of the Sword God family, this father should at least..."

"Oh my god, seriously!"

With Ji-su beside me, her face as red as a radish.

"...Should I also receive a legendary sword from grandfather?"

Yu-jin muttered seriously.

"But you already have the Moonless Sword..."

"......"

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After completing the fortress tour with Chairman Hwang Yong-jae, Su-hyeon met with Chief of Staff Heo Sung-gyeom and Commander Ju Taeyang after a long time.

"You said you had important matters to discuss."

"Yes. A very important matter."

Heo Sung-gyeom said with a serious expression.

"We've finally succeeded in piercing the enemy's arrogance."

"What do you mean?"

"You must know about the specialties of the 7th and 9th Units?"

"Yes. They're units specialized in intelligence and tracking, respectively, aren't they?"

"That's right. If I had to name the units that suffered the most during this time of peace, it would definitely be these two. They conducted a joint operation, and finally..."

Heo Sung-gyeom smiled at Su-hyeon's expression, eagerly waiting for his next words.

"Catacomb. They've succeeded in identifying the enemy's base."

"!"

Su-hyeon's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Really, of course."

"That's amazing."

Su-hyeon marveled.

Like the [Fragment of the Eroding World].

The location of the Catacomb was randomly determined each playthrough.

And finding that location was always a truly difficult task.

"But we haven't found the exact coordinates yet. To discover that, we need to find their collaborators."

"Collaborators."

"Yes. There must be someone who provides alibis to ensure that the Catacomb doesn't raise suspicion."

Heo Sung-gyeom showed a list and said.

"The problem is, we need to identify all of them quietly and at once. And rumors about such people are often better known in the underworld."

"Otherwise they could immediately cut ties or escape."

"Exactly. Choi Inbeom, that guy became completely timid after getting demolished by Battle Maniac Jang Su-il when he was strutting around at his peak."

"So in the end, he was that level of person."

"I agree."

As I examined the list, I raised an eyebrow at a familiar name.

'This bastard.'

He was someone who had collaborated with Hwang Won-jae in many playthroughs.

"This guy is a bit suspicious."

"Is that a prophecy too?"

Ju Taeyang asked with interest.

"No. This is just intuition."

"Well, sometimes intuition is more accurate than logic."

Ju Taeyang stroked his beard.

"It would be worth checking."

"The problem is we're short on manpower."

'Indeed.'

Su-hyeon noticed why Heo Sung-gyeom was telling him this.

"How about assigning it to Old Man Jang?"

"That would be appreciated. But the issue is he doesn't have direct ties with us."

"Don't worry."

Su-hyeon smiled.

"I understand your intention, Chief of Staff."

"This is embarrassing."

Heo Sung-gyeom smiled awkwardly.

"Submit a separate claim for the reward. We'll deposit it."

"Thank you."

"We won't say anything even if you take a commission along the way."

"If you insist, I won't decline."

[Hmm.]

After hearing Su-hyeon's request, Old Man Jang briefly sighed and paused before answering.

[Two days should do it.]

"Two days? That's very quick."

[Isn't it?]

Old Man Jang laughed.

[I got a very capable guy a few months ago.]

"Is that so? Congratulations."

[Huhu.]

Old Man Jang's laughter became strange.

'What's going on?'

He couldn't possibly guess that, as a butterfly effect of the White Castle raid, Nam Tae-hoon was now working under Old Man Jang and would be handling Su-hyeon's request.

[By the way, I hear Chairman Hwang built a hell of a fortress?]

"Yes, that's right."

[From what I hear, the scale is no joke. It's not just a fortress. It'll be Noah's Ark built on land.]

"I think so too."

[It seems the age of every man for himself is coming again.]

Of course, the Execution Force couldn't just defend that one fortress to save themselves.

But prioritizing the survival of the most critical personnel in the worst-case scenario was a natural stance in preparing for the apocalypse.

[If things go wrong, I'm thinking of applying for residence there too.]

"Is that so?"

[Of course. So I need to diligently respond to requests from the Execution Force to prove my utility value, don't I?]

"...That's right."

Hwang Yong-jae, and Old Man Jang.

'After all, the people who've rolled around in this field for a long time are all extraordinary.'

Su-hyeon thought.