Life Mission

Park Jin Hyuk’s flesh and muscles are tougher and stronger than that of a cow. To find a comparison for something that the infestor is trying to dig through, it would be like a bullet.

Park Jin Hyuk took off the right part of his metal armor. He put the dagger he always carried with him to his armpit and cut it off.

The action was quick. A series of processes happened within seconds.

“Ack!”

There is a terrible pain is picking at his right shoulder. He does not know where he found the courage to cut it, but all he thought about was how to prevent infection.

Kyak!

A brown infestor came out through the cut. Park jin Hyuk brandished his dagger again, skewered it, and popped it with his foot.

He stumbled, but regained his balance. Body modification does not control the flow of blood. He is dizzy from losing so much blood at one time.

‘I guarantee that if I had been infected, everyone on the ark would have died.’

He is right. A brown infestor is limited to level 4, but its growth increases with the host’s abilities. It would have become a level 5.

If that happens, the mission level would have become C and it would have been a special mission.

He leaned on the center of the Head Hunter and looked at the party members. While he was being attacked, 4 of the brown infestors had secured infection targets.

“Ugh... Damn it.”

Two level 3s are protecting the level 4s for a smooth transition. He needs to prevent them, but he does not have the strength. He cannot snipe with one hand.

Park Jin Hyuk dropped dozens of bombs on the ground. He also held a fever shot in his hand. The second he sets this off, there will be a series of explosions.

“Let’s die together.”

It’s already unfair that he’s dying, but to die alone? Bullshit! He’ll take all of them with him. The level 3s watched him without moving from their positions.

Kwajik!

The hosts that have had their brains taken over by the brown infestors are starting to change. Once it is over, they will be the same as the level 4 they saw in the 1st sleeping room.

The party members despaired with the situation unfolding before them, and the soldiers were panicking.

The level 4s took their metal armors off and all looked at Park Jin Hyuk.

To kill him? They want his outstanding physical ability. The four of them conversed in the language of parasites. They are figuring out who will take his body.

One of the level 4s took a step forward. It is the one that was born the fastest of the four. They do not have a concept of order, but that is how the decision was made.

Park Jin Hyuk kicked the bombs rolling around under his feet. If he wants to widen the range of the explosions, he needs to control the distances between the bombs.

“Bang!”

Park Jin Hyuk made a sound with his mouth, and motioned with his fingers. He meant that he would set the bombs off if they came close but surprisingly, they understood.

“They all try to use tricks.....”

The infected host circles the area with Park Jin Hyuk at the center. He cannot tell whether it is trying to observe him or if it is trying to figure out the locations of the bombs.

Kyak!

The level 4s were standing far from the bombs when they called the level 3s in.

The level 3s received their orders and approached Park Jin Hyuk without complaints. If they cannot take over him, they mean to kill him with sacrifices.

Park Jin Hyuk cannot take on two level 3s with his arm cut off.

He needs to choose between setting the bombs off or fighting, but he will be overpowered if he fights. But it would not be satisfying to only take out 2 of them by setting the bombs off.

Park Jin Hyuk crouched down. He will get at them quickly and set the bombs off all at once. If he cannot kill all of them, he needs to kill the level 4s.

-[Jin Hyuk, Jin Hyuk? Hold out for 5 minutes! We’re almost there. We’re just around the corner!]

Cha Jun Sung radioed in. If he is around the corner, he is just a stone’s throw away. He is saying that he will arrive at the bunker in 5 minutes. But it is hard to hold out for 1 minute, let alone 5.

-[Sorry. Jun Sung, even 30 seconds is hard. I’ll take these guys with me.]

-[Hey!]

“Whew!”

He had become so strong, but to die because of these guys. He is dejected. He had wanted to get past level C and go all the way to S. He did not know that he would fall at just D.

Beep!

Kyak?

At the moment that Park Jin Hyuk was about to run at them, the hosts became surprised and started screaming.

There is a high frequency sound from afar that parasites can hear though humans cannot. The infection pocket is calling its subordinates.

Bang bang!

At the call, the hosts lost interest in Park Jin Hyuk and ran to the bunker entrance. They looked to be in a rush.

Park Jin Hyuk had been ready to die, and did not understand the situation. What is this? Why are they running away all of a sudden? No – have they disappeared?

There was a reason for the hosts’ behavior. This high frequency sound is a signal for danger. It means that something has happened to the infection pocket.

“I’ve been brought back from death.”

Park Jin Hyuk collapsed to the ground. He was dizzy from spilling so much blood, but he was also lacking in strength because his tension was released.

“Hey, hey! Treatment!”

“Yes.”

One surviving medic came to him with his arm. He was uneasy about it because it is an arm that the infestor had gone in and out of, but a simple test shows that the inside is clean.

Park Jin Hyuk wanted to receive treatment in the briefing room, but he decided to reattach the arm because the mission has not ended yet and it could become more dangerous.

He cannot exert his full abilities as a sniper with one arm. The medic was next to him, scanning his body and preparing for surgery.

The medic, who had been watching the battle, glanced at Park Jin Hyuk in disbelief. He had been in a crisis and had done something that no one else could have done.

It is not movement that a body that has gone through the 2nd stage of body modifications can handle.

‘I guess I can’t hide it anymore.’

His arm hurts with shooting pain. He would leave things as they come because he does not want a headache on top of that.

***

Cha Jun Sung was desperate. The radio with Park Jin Hyuk bothered him. He said that he can’t hold out! He said that he would take them with him! Jin Hyuk dying? This cannot be.

“Corner!”

Cha Jun Sung rounded the corner. He has superior speed, so the party was far behind him. It would be a few minutes before they catch up to him.

As soon as he turned the corner, he encountered the infection hosts that were running somewhere. There are a lot of them. The four level 4s and two level 3s that have come from the bunker.

Normally, he would have avoided them, but sparks fired from Cha Jun Sung’s eyes as he was worrying about Park Jin Hyuk. Nothing would have happened to him, right? He cannot forgive them.

Cha Jun Sung took the pin out of a grenade and hit it with the Wolf Kill as if it were a baseball. The grenade flew forward and blew up.

Bang bang bang bang!

The level 4s avoided it with their unique body movements, but the level 3s could not react completely and were swept away with the debris. They are not weak though, and are still alive.

Cha Jun Sung leapt up and ran along a wall with pipes. His racing speed let him defy gravity for a moment.

-[This is Lim Si Hyun. We sent Hercules back ahead of us. It will take a long time to explain, but we embedded the engine room map in it.]

“So you guys are trying to get back to protect the force? But I don’t want to send you.”

Lim Si Hyun had radioed in. There is a limit to the human memory, so information needs to be repeated. That is why they cannot accommodate a large quantity.

A cyborg is a computer. With its capacity, nothing is impossible.

Memorizing a map is a piece of cake. The engine room is far, but Hercules can be faster than Cha Jun Sung if it turns on the booster.

-[I’m safe.]

-[Oh!]

-[I was wondering why they started retreating all of a sudden. I see it’s because of the source.]

Cha Jun Sung was relieved. Park Jin Hyuk is alive, but he cannot let the hosts go. If he sends them now, Lim Si Hyun will be surrounded.

He brandished the Wolf Kill. The level 4s step back. If they had been hit, they would have been cut in half. They are shrewd. No matter how rushed they are, they are not letting their guards down.

Kuk!

The hosts roar. It seems they are telling him to clear the path. If he were going to do that, he would not have blocked it in the first place.

Cha Jun Sung took his stance. In fighting in close quarters, he is definitely better than Park Jin Hyuk. His battle style is concentrated in that area in the first place.

“Come.”

“Jun Sung!”

Koharu and Kyoko see the hosts and their eyes widen. There are 6 of them. Of them, 4 look similar to the level 4s they saw before.

3 parties arrived behind the sisters. They were surprised by the hosts’ savage construction for a moment, and then prepared to fight.

-[Master! We encountered 6 infected hosts. They are estimated to be levels 3 and 4, and they seem to be going to protect the infection pocket!]

-[We’ll take care of a few of them. Let them through.]

The hosts are too powerful for Cha Jun Sung to take care of on his own.

The party members heard the radio and gently created gaps. The hosts were in such a rush that they did not even consider that it might be a trap, and ran for it.

Papat!

Two level 4s get through at the head. The rest tried to go through as well, but Cha Jun Sung blocked them. He can try to do something about the remaining ones.

“I’ll take one level 4. Don’t overdo it and fight!”

Cha Jun Sung faced a level 4. He cannot hide his body modification in this circumstance. He can take care of this now and explain later.

-[Jun Sung, where are you?]

-[Corner!]

-[I’m going.]

Park Jin Hyuk is reattaching his arm. Even if it is completely attached, he cannot use it right away, but he wants to help even if he needs to use his feet or teeth.

“Hit!”

The party members fight the hosts with the party heads’ commands. Kyoko fell back with the rest of the support, and Koharu pulled out her twin daggers.

It is not a wide space so it was hard to concentrate the parties’ strength, but the hosts could not find a space large enough for them to get through so their power was pretty much the same.

Woong!

As the power came back on the ark, the ceiling lights turned on one by one. They could also hear the sound of the engine being activated. Are they imagining that the ark is moving?

With the recovery of the main system, the ownership had gone into the Lieutenant’s hands. Now, they need to handle the source. They will need to do their best!