Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

184 – Example

General Park Chan-Hyung, upon hearing Soo-Jeong’s words, attempted to take her hostage instead of fleeing. He believed that since Soo-Jeong had shown vulnerability to K2 bullets earlier, he could subdue her before Myung-jun arrived.

However, in the resumed second attack, Soo-Jeong activated the void shield generator attached to her right hand, neutralizing all the bullets fired by the soldiers. Not only did she block the K2 bullets from the soldiers brought by the General, but she also neutralized the .50 caliber sniper rounds fired by the snipers waiting outside the tent for emergencies.

Some of the soldiers were even equipped with rifled coating equipment airlifted from the United States at the beginning of the gate crisis. However, even this special equipment, designed to deal with third-grade monsters, couldn’t penetrate the void shield she deployed.

Realizing the futility of wasting ammunition, Major General Park Chan-Hyung stopped the attack and glared at Soo-Jeong with eyes that seemed ready to tear her apart.

“Did you have the ability to block everything from the start?”

“Well, if I wanted to. The public perception of me is somewhat mistaken. It’s not that I can’t fight; I just choose not to.”

In reality, her combat abilities were among the top within the Liberal Clan. Just as Clan Master Myung-jun could use all the specialized equipment made for his subordinates, as the Vice Master, she also had the ability to summon and use all the equipment she had developed.

Testing the equipment was an essential part of the development process, so as the ‘designer,’ she had independent access and the ability to use all the equipment stored in Myung-jun’s hangar. Unlike Myung-jun, who could summon equipment from the subspace hangar without restrictions, her ability was limited to summoning only one type of equipment at a time. However, this limitation posed no problem in the current situation.

It wasn’t as if a large number of fifth-grade monsters were charging at her, and in a fight against regular soldiers without any awakened individuals, she could easily subdue everyone present with just one type of equipment. Moreover, although she could only summon one type of equipment from the subspace at a time, she could simultaneously use any equipment already taken out and loaded onto the Shadow Hawk. Therefore, there was no trace of fear on her face.

However, Park Chan-Hyung, unaware of these facts, couldn’t understand why she had initially allowed herself to be attacked. Despite having the ability to subdue everyone present with a mere flick of her finger, why had she endured the pain and let him do as he pleased?

Before Park Chan-Hyung could ask the reason, an operations officer hurriedly ran into the tent and spoke to him.

“General! You must leave this place immediately!”

“Are you telling me to run away? Me, a general of South Korea?”

“We don’t know how long the defensive line will hold! It’s better to retreat for now and wait for Cha Myung-jun’s anger to subside rather than facing him in his current state of extreme agitation!”

“Hah… Are you saying that all those soldiers couldn’t stop a single civilian?”

“Forget about that for now and retreat. If you, the only field commander within the containment area, are in danger, who will look after the soldiers? You all, make sure that woman doesn’t try anything suspicious while the General moves to safety!”

The operations officer directed the nearly demoralized soldiers. He then attempted to escort Park Chan-Hyung to a vehicle outside the tent. However, before they could exit, a massive drone, roughly the size of an elementary school student, flew in with a loud noise, blocking the tent entrance.

“Who said you could leave?”

“Are you planning to fight the Ministry of National Defense head-on?”

“Do you have memory issues? You were the ones who started this. Not us.”

“I made the best decision for the security of South Korea and the protection of its citizens.”

“We’re the same. We just hope that people like you don’t appear in future operations.”

Realizing that she intended to make an ‘example’ out of him, Major General Park Chan-Hyung urgently shouted to his subordinates.

“Attack the drone! Secure an escape route!”

But before the soldiers could raise their guns, Soo-Jeong lifted her hand and spoke.

“Summon Disarmament Turret.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a turret the size of an adult male was summoned in the middle of the tent. The turret, about the height of an adult male, had a large spherical device attached instead of a separate gun barrel. Soo-Jeong then softly instructed the turret.

“Activate firearm neutralization protocol.”

[Activating firearm neutralization protocol. Suppressing the detonation response of all explosive agents within a 300-meter radius.]

Inside the disarmament turret that Soo-Jeong summoned was a special tissue extracted from the interior of an monster. When supplied with crystal energy, this tissue emitted special waves that neutralized the chemical reactions of all detonators within its range. The monster that originally possessed this tissue had single-handedly annihilated a U.S. extermination squad armed with rifled coating equipment.

Modern soldiers, who excessively relied on firearms, were no different from ordinary people once their weapons were neutralized. The disarmament turret created by Soo-Jeong, using the tissue from that monster, could cover a much wider area than the original entity.

“What?! Why isn’t my gun firing?”

“Misfire! Misfire!”

“General! The bullets aren’t firing!”

Seeing that Soo-Jeong had neutralized all the soldiers’ firearms with a single move, Major General Park Chan-Hyung ground his teeth. He then shouted to the soldiers,

“If our bullets won’t fire, neither will hers! Everyone, rush her and subdue her with force!”

His judgment was based on logical reasoning. If the equipment she summoned neutralized the chemical reactions of ‘all’ detonators within its range, it would naturally affect her summoned equipment as well. However, as the soldiers drew their bayonets and charged at Soo-Jeong, dozens of bullets were fired from the drone blocking the tent entrance, hitting the ground in front of the soldiers.

-Ratatatatatata!!-

“What?! How?!”

“Well, the weapon on that drone uses bullets ignited by ultra-high voltage sparks instead of detonators. It can be used within the neutralization field. So, give up. Even Myung-jun, in his bionic suit, wouldn’t be able to kill you with a single blow…”

Soo-Jeong couldn’t finish her sentence. Before she could, a tremendous impact sound from outside the tent reached inside. She stopped speaking and urgently ran outside the tent. Looking up, she saw a 5-ton military truck flying high into the sky.

It was a military truck that Park Chan-Hyung’s subordinates had set up as a barricade to stop Myung-jun, who was charging like a rhinoceros.

“What? The bionic suit shouldn’t produce that much power… Oh, that’s right.”

She shook her head as she looked around the area near the Shadow Hawk, where equipment boxes had been set up in case of an emergency. The boxes were completely open and scattered everywhere. Attached to these boxes were metal plates with the words “Elimination Protocol” written in elegant script.

-BOOOOM!!-

“Oh my God…”

Major General Park Chan-Hyung groaned as he watched the 5-ton military truck, which had flown at least several dozen meters into the air, crash back down to the ground. Soo-Jeong, standing next to him, urgently shouted at him.

“Damn it! I didn’t think of that! Soldier, put this on!”

Before Park Chan-Hyung could react, she removed the void shield generator attached to her arm. She then forcefully shoved the device into his front pocket, turning the dial on the equipment to MAX. A powerful protective barrier, capable of deflecting attacks from fifth-grade monsters, formed around the General. The shield’s repulsive force sent Soo-Jeong flying backward.

The moment Soo-Jeong was flung back and the moment Myung-jun, in extreme agitation, launched a flying kick at Park Chan-Hyung with his boosters at maximum output, happened almost simultaneously. With a tremendous explosion, Park Chan-Hyung was sent flying hundreds of meters, smashing through the tent and destroying all vehicles and equipment in his path, as if a railgun shell had passed through.

However, even as he watched Park Chan-Hyung fly away like a human projectile, Myung-jun’s anger was not appeased.

‘Normally, he should have burst like a water balloon upon impact. Is he an awakener?’

If he were an awakener, that would be even better. The price for daring to touch the Vice Master of the Liberal Clan couldn’t be repaid by an ordinary human body. However, Myung-jun didn’t pursue Park Chan-Hyung for a follow-up attack to vent his anger. There was a more important and urgent matter awaiting him.

As soon as Myung-jun sent Park Chan-Hyung flying with a single attack, he turned and ran towards Soo-Jeong. He bent down to check her condition and spoke.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“Ugh… My butt hurts a bit, but I’m fine.”

Seeing Soo-Jeong say she was fine, Myung-jun connected to her power armor to check her vital signs. Confirming that she had no serious injuries, he sighed in relief.

“You have some bruises, but nothing major. What happened here? No, let’s deal with that bastard first and then talk.”

As Myung-jun straightened up, wearing the Elimination Suit that made him nearly three meters tall, the surrounding soldiers instinctively took a step back. The sheer destructive power of the suit was evident, exuding an intimidating aura that suggested it could annihilate an entire corps in an instant. Some soldiers, fully aware that they were the cause of the bruises on Soo-Jeong’s body, were so terrified that they wet their pants.

“We… we were just following orders…”

“Enough, I’ll deal with you later.”

At that moment, seeing some soldiers collapse to the ground in fear, Soo-Jeong spoke to Myung-jun.

“Myung-jun, wait.”

“I’ll listen to your explanation later. First, let me kill that bastard…”

“Developer command confirmed. Initiating voice verification procedure. Force-stopping Elimination Suit.”

[Voice verification procedure initiated. Access rights confirmed. Temporarily deactivating Elimination Suit functions.]

In an instant, the thrusters of the Elimination Suit, which had been spewing flames as if ready to launch forward, ceased operation. Myung-jun, now restrained, asked Soo-Jeong,

“Senior?”

“What just happened wasn’t because the General attacked me, but because I forcibly attached the shield generator to him. So, hold off on attacking and listen to my explanation.”

“The shield generator? Why?”

“If I hadn’t done that, he would’ve burst like an overripe watermelon the moment your kick landed. I’m not saying don’t kill him. The decision is yours.”

[Temporary pause ended. Suit functions restored.]

At that moment, Myung-jun’s suit, which had been temporarily deactivated, started back up. He looked in the direction where Park Chan-Hyung had flown, then turned back to Soo-Jeong. Sighing, he spoke to her.

“Alright. But if I don’t like what I hear, that bastard is as good as dead.”

“Considering who he messed with, that’s only natural. But Myung-jun, do you know something?”

In a tone that sounded endlessly gentle yet chilling, Soo-Jeong said,

“There are far more ways to make someone wish they were dead than there are to simply kill them.”

A mischievous smile full of anticipation for what was to come played on her lips as she spoke.

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