Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 70

“This looks like a Flame Buster.”

“Flame Buster?”

“Yes, it’s a flame bomb Neo Seoul is researching exclusively to use against high-ranking monsters. I’ve heard it’s intended to target B-rank or higher monsters…”

Jo Sang-hyuk’s words trailed off.

Rumors were just rumors.

Among B-rank or higher monsters, there existed powerful force fields.

No ordinary weapon could inflict even minor injuries due to these force fields.

The only thing capable of penetrating a monster’s force field and causing damage was the attack of an Awakened.

In the desert, such monsters were abundant.

These factors kept people tied to Neo Seoul.

Safe land was limited, yet the population kept growing.

The need for expansion beyond Neo Seoul was urgent.

That’s why the Flame Buster was being developed.

To deal significant damage to B-rank, even boss-level monsters.

“But as far as I know, the Flame Buster hasn’t been completed yet.”

“Are you sure?”

“Among the remaining serial numbers here, ‘FB’ stands for Flame Buster, and ‘130’ means it’s the 130th prototype.”

“How do you know that?”

“I… I have connections with arms smugglers.”

Jo Sang-hyuk spoke honestly.

Neo Seoul and the slums had a kind of symbiotic relationship.

Weapons developed in Neo Seoul sometimes found their way into the slums.

There were cases of smuggling by organized crime, but sometimes Neo Seoul deliberately leaked them into the slums.

Because they couldn’t openly experiment within Neo Seoul, they utilized organizations in the slums for testing.

Therefore, arms smuggling organizations were quite knowledgeable about Neo Seoul’s weapon development.

“Regardless, it’s still a prototype, right?”

“Yes! Its power seems much weaker than rumored. It might even be a separate development as a small-scale weapon. If it were a proper Flame Buster, the entire street would probably have been destroyed.”

Since it was developed to penetrate a monster’s force field, its destructive power was immense.

If it exploded, it could demolish even giant buildings in an instant, so it couldn’t be used recklessly.

No matter how lawless the slums were, if damage exceeded a certain level, all organizations would have to intervene. That would escalate the problem.

Zeon asked.

“Have any organizations recently acquired the Flame Buster?”

“As far as I know, not yet. It’s still just a prototype…”

“Are you sure?”

Zeon’s voice sank heavily.

For a moment, Jo Sang-hyuk felt a chill run down his spine.

Zeon still had a smile on his lips, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

Unconsciously, Jo Sang-hyuk stuttered.

“Th-that’s…”

“Tell me anything that could be a lead. If it turns out later that you’ve hidden information, I’ll show you a fireworks display like no other with the Flame Buster.”

“Gah!”

In an instant, Jo Sang-hyuk felt the temperature inside the warehouse skyrocketing.

Zeon had released some of his abilities.

‘Fuck!’

Jo Sang-hyuk’s face contorted in pain.

It felt like his entire body was melting in the heat.

If time passed any longer, he felt like his lungs would burn from the hot air.

He hastily said.

“Th-there have been some troublesome guys recently.”

“Oh really?”

Zeon showed interest, and the scorching air that had risen sharply cooled down.

Jo Sang-hyuk hurriedly continued.

“They’re Alligators.”

“Alligators?”

“They live underground. They’re called that because they gobble up anything like alligators. They do anything that can make money, just like their name suggests.”

“But?”

“Lately, the movements of these Alligators have been suspicious. I don’t know what’s causing it, but they’re causing trouble everywhere.”

“And other organizations just let such people be?”

“The underground sewer is their habitat. As you know, that place is…”

“Too dirty for anyone to enter?”

“Yes!”

“I see. Is that all?”

Zeon turned away without further probing.

There was nothing more to gain from Jo Sang-hyuk by poking further.

Now it was time to act.

The slums weren’t just confined to the surface.

Since there was no more land to build houses on, some people turned their eyes underground.

They wanted to own houses, even if it meant underground since they couldn’t have them on the surface.

There were rumors that such people had gathered and established a territory underground. But Zeon had never seen them firsthand.

‘Underground, huh?”’

Zeon returned to the intersection.

The street where the vehicle had exploded was now clean.

It wasn’t cleaned intentionally; people had looted everything.

Even the burnt-out car body was valuable to them.

They could melt it down for recycling or find other uses for it.

There was no such thing as discarded junk in the slums. But that didn’t matter.

What Zeon needed wasn’t the burnt car body.

Zeon wandered around near the intersection.

What he was looking for was a passage leading underground.

It wouldn’t make sense for someone to walk around the streets with something as bulky as a mana generator. They must have entered the underground through the closest passage.

After searching for a while, Zeon finally found such a place.

Behind a secluded alley piled with junk, there was a small passage.

It should have been blocked by iron bars, but they were all bent.

A foul smell emanated from the passage.

That’s why even people living in the slums hesitated to approach.

Without hesitation, Zeon slipped through the gap.

Like sand flowing, Zeon descended into the underground through the crevice.

The underground turned out to be a sewer.

Sewage filled up to ankle height and gurgled.

The smell inside the sewer was so pungent it made one dizzy.

Zeon took a moment to compose himself.

Although the environment wasn’t pleasant, Zeon had survived in worse conditions.

He could adapt to this level of discomfort easily.

And indeed, he did.

Soon, Zeon began to move, acclimating himself to the stench.

No matter how much the underground sewer flows, when humans move, they always leave traces.

And that was the case here.

Fingerprints on the walls, marks of something being dragged were all clearly visible.

Zeon didn’t miss such traces.

Pat! Pat!

With each step Zeon took, there was a sound of water splashing on the floor.

If it were regular shoes, they would have been soaked by now, but the shoes Zeon wore were not ordinary.

They were made from monster leather as well.

Not a single drop of water seeped in.

Thanks to this, Zeon could walk through the sewer without worry.

As Zeon walked at a brisk pace, he suddenly widened his eyes.

A fork in the path had appeared.

This was where it became crucial.

Zeon examined the ground.

Both passages had sewage flowing through them, but one was dry, without a hint of moisture.

No one could live underwater, even if they adapted to underground life. If people lived, it would be in places where sewage didn’t enter.

Zeon moved towards the dry path.

The passage was high enough for an adult to walk through comfortably.

This made it easy for Zeon to walk.

Breathing became much easier from this point on.

The foul smell that had pervaded the air became much fainter.

Rather than Zeon getting used to it, it seemed like some artificial force was purifying the air in the sewer.

‘An item?’

Air purification items were quite expensive.

And they weren’t something you could easily acquire just because you had money.

They were only traded in Neo Seoul.

Using such a precious item to purify the air in the sewer seemed to indicate the scale and capabilities of those living underground were greater than expected.

As Zeon took a few more steps…

“Who goes there?”

“A tracker?”

With rough voices, someone attacked Zeon from the darkness.

Approaching through the darkness, two weapons aimed at Zeon’s neck and head.

They were aiming for fatal spots.

Zeon moved his body lightly to evade the attack and then struck back.

“Keuk!”

“Ugh!”

The attackers screamed out in pain.

Zeon’s fist had struck precisely at their abdomens.

It was a powerful blow that would have incapacitated an ordinary person, but the attackers managed to withstand it.

They were wearing protective gear resembling ragged armor. It mitigated the impact.

“It’s a bastard from above.”

“You’re dead!”

Driven by malice, they attacked Zeon.

The sight of them rushing towards him with their yellow teeth bared resembled rabid dogs.

“Tsk!”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

While there were no non-toxic people among those living in the slums, these individuals were beyond the norm.

It seemed like it’d be difficult to subdue them with just the right amount of force.

Boom!

Thud!

Zeon’s fist and knee struck each attacker’s head and abdomen.

The attacker struck in the head lost focus in his eyes, while the one hit in the abdomen had his protection shattered, bearing the full brunt of the impact on his body.

Seemingly in agony, as if their internal organs bursted, they lost consciousness and collapsed.

Zeon paid no attention to the fallen attackers and continued forward.

With surveillance forces down, those inside would have noticed the intrusion.

Thud!

Zeon’s pace quickened.

“You’re dead!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, gunshots echoed in the sewer.

And it wasn’t just gunshots from any gun; it was from a machine gun capable of repeat fire.

Due to guns being unable to penetrate thick monster hide, firearms were pushed back in the weapon of choice, but that didn’t mean they weren’t completely obsolete.

There was no weapon more efficient than firearms for subduing and killing humans.

The attackers beyond the darkness fired their guns madly. However, the bullets didn’t hit Zeon.

His robe perfectly protected him.

Thud!

Zeon kicked off the ground and leaped forward.

In an instant, Zeon closed the distance and subdued those firing the guns.

“Arggh!”

“Keuuk!”

With screams, all the attackers fell.

Zeon stood in the center, looking down at the fallen.

Each one emitted a foul odor from not having washed in probably years. Their appearance was as pitiful as those struggling to survive outside the colony.

“Who are you? You bastard?”

“I-I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!”

The attackers, lying on the ground, glared at Zeon with venomous eyes and spewed curses.

They were not your typical toxic people.

But Zeon wasn’t your typical person either.

This level of mental pressure couldn’t affect him.

Ignoring their venomous gazes, Zeon looked around.

In the rather large underground space, many items were piled up.

Among them was a mana generator that Zeon suspected belonged to him.

“Ah, there you are.”

As Zeon walked towards the mana generator…

“You, what are you?”

A particularly calm voice sounded.

Zeon paused for a moment and looked towards where the voice came from.

A man sat on a large wooden crate, doing his nails.

The man was grooming his nails with a dagger the size of an adult’s forearm, his face covered in tattoos, with unnaturally yellow eyes gleaming eerily in the darkness.

Strangely, the space around the man seemed distorted and warped.

He spoke again.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m the owner of that item.”

Zeon glanced at the mana generator.

The man chuckled.

“So you crawled all the way here to find that mana generator? You have quite the guts. But what should I do? I have no intention of giving it back.”

“But what can I do? I definitely need to get that back though.”

Zeon also smiled at the man.