I Became a Scoundrel of a Chaebol Family-Chapter 467

By the time some time had passed and we finally set foot on the ground, the base’s resistance had already diminished considerably.

The sheer flood of deployed Mine—around six hundred of them—was rampaging everywhere, crushing forces in concentrated strikes, and the large-scale weapons that stood out had been wiped out instantly by the Mecha.

On top of that, many of the Knights had dismounted from their Mecha, infiltrating deeper with their smaller bodies and stabbing into every corner. It was no wonder the base lost combat power in an instant.

Meanwhile, one Militaris-class Titan kept hammering away with its auxiliary batteries, and with each barrage, one section of the base was engulfed in a massive explosion and blown apart. That was probably Go Minji.

“Having the time of your life, aren’t you.”

At this rate, Rachel might end up dead.

She claimed she’d avoid firing where there were people or important facilities, but—who knows.

I’d better hurry too.

“Every base has an emergency escape route. And if that route is blocked or overcrowded, there are exclusive escape passages used by the executives.”

“Oh.”

Thankfully, Park Hyejeong was proving to be very useful.

When we first descended, she froze for a moment at the horrific scene, but soon after, she began spilling everything she knew without hesitation.

“Most lead to nearby mountains or villages, but the executive-exclusive passages can stretch for hundreds of kilometers.”

“So blocking the immediate area doesn’t solve the problem?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, they built it disgustingly thorough.”

Still, since we’d deployed so many Mine and Knights, I hoped we’d be able to identify them before anyone could escape.

‘Or should I just do it the simple way—collapse the entire surrounding region? With this level of force, it feels like it might be possible.’

Forget escape passages or whatever. Just bury them all.

I was entertaining that extreme thought when Minji-ah, who had been silently following along, finally opened her mouth.

“Master, how about requesting an Ultra-Density Satellite Scan...?”

“Ultra-Density Satellite Scan?”

“It’s... one of the military satellites Militaris owns.... And since Militaris has joined in on this operation—”

“Would that reveal the secret passages too? I already had a satellite scan done before.”

“That was a standard satellite scan. The military satellites are d-different....”

“Oh... really?”

If Jia said so with that much conviction, then there must definitely be something more.

“Then, Master, request a focused scan of about a 20-kilometer radius centered on the base. That should give us a good sense of where the special passages are.”

“Alright. I’ll do it immediately.”

I called Go Minji at once.

— Thwoom!

She definitely answered, but instead of words, an enormous boom rang out.

And then, from the corner of my vision, a crude shaft of light speared into the ground, detonating in a huge blast that toppled buildings.

— I’m busy. Why.

“Noona, is there something called an Ultra-Density Satellite Scan? Can you do that?”

— Out of nowhere... Ah, yeah, I can. I’d have to contact the Satellite Control Division, but I don’t know if they’ll agree~. Costs a hell of a lot, you know?

“Tell them it’s necessary for my safety.”

— Fair point. Can’t guarantee safety without knowing the full picture. But seriously, you’re only asking for this now? Dumbass. Should’ve done it ages ago.

“How the fuck was I supposed to request something I didn’t even know existed?”

— Christ. Useless little non-registered director scrub.

“Fuck off. Are you doing it or not.”

— Thwoom!

— I’ll make the call and send it over once the data comes in.

“Thanks.”

Thankfully, Go Minji didn’t waste too much time with useless chatter and agreed right away.

Probably because she was venting her stress by yanking the ship’s guns around.

After a couple more bombardments, the shelling stopped for a while. She was likely contacting that Satellite Control Division—or maybe passing it directly to Min-young.

“In the meantime, let’s keep looking ourselves.”

“Yes. The command center is this way.”

++++

For now, Han Chaehee and Rachel’s group hurried into a nearby shelter.

As they moved through an underground corridor leading toward a special passage, Han Chaehee kept monitoring the battle situation.

Everywhere, it was despair—there wasn’t a trace of hope, nothing but a one-sided massacre.

Most of the base’s grand defensive power had already been lost long ago, and only military forces and a few High-Class Mine were still resisting.

But even that was futile—swept aside in an instant—while hundreds of Mine and dozens of Knights were scattering throughout the base, tearing through its insides.

Which meant this place wasn’t safe either.

At any moment, a Mine or a Knight could burst in—this was no safe zone but a danger zone.

Even as her heart pounded like it might burst, Han Chaehee sensed something strange.

“...There’s no report of monsters being deployed. Every witness report mentions only Mine or Knights. Even the bombardments haven’t been indiscriminate.”

“What are you suddenly getting at?”

“I mean this isn’t exactly like a typical invasion.”

“...”

Rachel fell into thought at those words.

“You’re right. Something does feel different.”

“Monsters have no cognition. They’re just creatures driven by instinct. In contrast... Mine and Knights possess cognition equal to—or superior to—humans.”

“...And the Mecha focused on neutralizing weapons, not indiscriminate bombing.”

“Yes.”

“Looking for something...?”

Han Chaehee silently nodded.

Judging by the enemy’s behavior, they were clearly searching for something.

So, what could it be? An S-Type? A High-Class Mine?

‘Or maybe... it’s not something they’re after, but someone...?’

Her gaze drifted almost unconsciously toward Rachel.

CSA’s Director of Paranormal Research, the head of the Super Serum Project—Rachel D. Mond.

And the Koryo Group had stolen CSA and Super Serum data in that prior hacking incident.

‘If this is both retaliation for targeting the Young Master... and also an attempt to secure Super Serum data and its key personnel...?’

“?”

Perhaps her gaze lingered too long, because Rachel quickly caught on.

“Wait... Are you seriously suggesting they came here targeting me? Are you serious?”

“...I don’t think we can completely rule out the possibility.”

Rachel bristled instantly.

What kind of insane nonsense was that?

Her departure and entry here had all been classified top-secret.

“W-What the hell.... Do you really think this is the time to spout such ridiculous shit?!”

“As I said, I’m only saying it can’t be ruled out. Honestly, the timing is suspicious. Three of our bases were already exposed, but they bypass those and strike here.”

“That... you can’t know! Maybe they’re attacking those as well!”

“Even if so, there’s no reason to commit this much manpower here. And on top of that, the enemy even brought Militaris this time...!”

Just as their argument was about to spiral out of control, someone laid a hand on each woman’s shoulder.

The High-Class Mine guarding Han Chaehee, and the superhuman accompanying Rachel, shook their heads, urging them to stop.

“This isn’t the priority right now.”

“Focus on what matters most, Chief.”

The two women barely calmed down.

Taking deep breaths, cooling their overheated heads, Han Chaehee spoke first.

“I’m sorry. I lost my temper.... Rachel, you’re an important guest. I overstepped.”

“...I understand. Given the situation. And... honestly, even I can’t completely deny it. That I’m... their target....”

“...”

With their tempers lowered, they apologized and pressed forward again.

And then, suddenly—

“!!!”

They came upon a corridor drenched in blood.

It should have been plain white concrete walls, but nearly every surface was soaked in crimson, with chunks of flesh and hacked-apart corpses strewn about.

The double doors left ajar at one side were also caked in gore, windows and all.

[S-PART1 Laboratory 3]

Drip.

Fresh blood still ran down.

Drip,

drip.

From the ceiling, blood droplets fell one by one—because the crushed half-body of a soldier was embedded there, dangling grotesquely at half-scale.

“...”

“...”

Han Chaehee and Rachel covered their mouths, retreating cautiously.

But then—

“N-no one... left....”

“!”

A voice behind them.

A dying soldier wheezed ragged breaths, staring at them.

“D-data... all... gone....”

Even at death’s door, he tried to speak—then expired.

Han Chaehee closed his lifeless eyes and cautiously approached the laboratory.

No one. Data—all gone.

From the fragments, it meant the enemy had already looted all the data and slaughtered everyone.

“Wait... you’re going in...?”

“...This is the only way forward. I have to confirm if it’s safe.”

“...”

Stepping carefully past the grotesque corpses and chunks of flesh, splashing through sticky blood, they peered through the open doorway.

“...”

Inside was worse than the corridor.

It looked as though it had been painted red from the beginning, every surface drenched in blood. Equipment and files were torn out brutally.

The flickering lights and dying electrical signals made it feel like some monster might leap out at any moment.

‘Even setting Rachel aside.... The enemy is stealing every last piece of data....’

This was the largest base on the Korean Peninsula.

Of course the information it held was massive.

And most of all—it contained the location of every base across the peninsula. This was the central base...!

If all of that was stolen—

‘That would be a catastrophe beyond simply losing the base...!’

She turned toward Rachel, who was trembling in fear.

Han Chaehee’s mission was to host and protect Rachel.

And right now, that meant evacuating her from the catastrophe safely.

But... was that enough?

Was it right to just hand everything in this base to the enemy?

Shouldn’t she at least press the kill switch, to erase as much information as possible?

As someone responsible for information, she understood better than anyone the sheer power information held.

There was no way she could allow any more to fall into enemy hands.

If she couldn’t defend it, she had to erase it.

But the problem was—at this level of emergency, the automatic kill switch should have already triggered.

Yet there was no sign it had.

Maybe a system error, or maybe the command had already fallen to the enemy.

‘Someone has to... press the kill switch manually....’

And only a handful of people knew the location of each branch’s manual kill switch.

The branch chief, the branch secretary-general, the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) branch intelligence officer.

And—

Her. The Intelligence Officer of Headquarters.

“...”